School Gardens

If you're reading this you're probably thinking about creating an outdoor learning space at your school. Brilliant! Here you will find absolutely everything you need including advice on what to do and how to fund it. If you like, we can help, as we have a lot of experience in the area - we even have everything ready to deliver from outdoor classrooms to school gardens.

We firmly believe that all schools should have a school garden. They represent an amazing learning tool that can have an enormous impact on your students' development. Having a garden is a great reflection on your school and any innovative, progressive school should not be without a garden as we move towards a more sustainable society that aims to improve wellbeing, take climate action and tackle the biodiversity crisis. 

From growing your own food to providing habitats for wildlife, these are the ideas that children need to be exposed to from a young age to create eco-literate citizens.

How we CAN help

School Garden/ Outdoor Classroom Packages & Design

More Info

Funding

Your outdoor learning space can be as cheap or as expensive as you like - it all depends on what you're looking for. You can create it on a shoe-string budget using upcycled materials, all the way up to considerable investments. One of the most important factors to bear in mind is maintenance and how you plan to sustainably manage your space in the years ahead. We would stress there's no point in making your space from below-par materials that will need to be replaced in a year or two. From our experience here are some great ways to assist your development of an outdoor learning space. Click the links for more info:

• Community Environment Action Fund
• ​CLÁR Funding
• Healthy Ireland funding via your local county council
• Per Cent for Art Scheme
• ​Wind Energy Community Funds (see local supplier)
• Standard school fundraisers 
• Creative Schools
• Nature Hero Awards
• Discretionary funding from local county councillors
• Parents' skills bank

• Corporate sponsorship from nearby companies​
• TidyTowns Groups
• Intel Pride of Place Competition (Leixlip, Celbridge, Maynooth)
• Drehid Grant Scheme (Kildare only)
• Irish Youth Foundation (various funds)
• ​​Crowdfunding websites (such as GoFundMe)
• Chat to your local county council Environmental Awareness Officer, Heritage Officer, Climate Officer or Biodiversity Officer.
• ​Turn your school garden into a community garden (depending on site suitability; helps funding and upkeep over holidays)

Elements of a school garden

What to include in your outdoor learning space? Here are some ideas. Please note we don't necessarily supply all of these, they are just ideas...

- Outdoor classroom
- Pond
- Bird feeders
- Bird boxes
- Bug hotels
- Decaying materials
- Orchards
- Hedgehog house
- Murals
- Spring bulbs
​- Den building
​- Reading benches
​- Maze
​- Nature trail
​- Geodome

- Meadow
- Composter
​- Contemplation area
- Succession flowering
​- Mud kitchens
- Native trees
- Native hedgerows
​- Greenhouse/ Polytunnel
​- Gardening club
- Rainwater harvester
- Sensory Pathways
- Sound wall
- Compass
​- Tree trail
​- Outdoor blackboards

- Raised beds
- Sensory garden
- Wildflower areas
- Pollinator beds
- Night gardens
- Bird baths
- Bee banks
- Wormery
​- Bug door
- Willow dome
​- Music walls
- Wellbeing areas
​- Sundial
​- Outdoor wildlife signs
- Sheltered/ covered area

- Leaf pile
- Log piles
- Wild areas
- Herbs
- Fruit bushes
​- Deadhedge
- Bog garden
​- Fairy Garden
- Bat boxes
- Mini-woodland
- Hens
​- Water walls
- Wildlife Cameras
- Weather stations
- Bird hide

Inspiration

Looking for some inspiration? Check out the amazing work of some schools across Ireland here.