School Gardens

If you're reading this you're probably thinking about creating a school garden. 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 can design your school garden - we even have full kits ready to be delivered, installed and enjoyed! We also offer follow up school garden workshops for your students and staff to get you started.

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 tackle the growing 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 environmentally conscious citizens.

Funding

A school garden can be as cheap or as expensive as you like - it all depends on what you're looking for. You can create a garden on a shoe-string budget using upcycled materials, all the way up to considerable investments. Each school is different, some have parents who can volunteer time and equipment, others have very experienced caretakers or if you're very lucky - a generous sponsor such as a nearby business. From our experience here are some great ways to raise funds/ get help to develop a school garden, just 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 (raffle, bake sale, collection of clothes, scrap metal, etc.)​
• Creative Schools
• Discretionary funding from local county councillors
• Corporate sponsorship from nearby companies
• TidyTowns Groups
• Irish Youth Foundation (various funds)
• ​​Crowdfunding websites (such as GoFundMe)
• ​Turn your school garden into a community garden (depending on site suitability; helps funding and upkeep over holidays)

How we CAN help

We have had the pleasure of working with schools all over Ireland for many years. We have the education and experience to know what works - and what doesn't! As you can see we have a range of helpful resources in 3 easy steps. Just click the boxes below for more info: 
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1. School Garden Design

More Info

2. Outdoor Classrooms & School Gardens

More Info

3. School Gardening Programme

More Info

Elements of a school garden

What to include in your school garden? Here are examples of the most popular features of a school garden. Our area of specialty is biodiversity so we focus more on encouraging wildlife:

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

- Meadow
- Composter
​- Contemplation area
- Succession flowering
​- Mud kitchens
- Native trees
- Native hedgerows
​- Greenhouse/ Polytunnel
​- Gardening club
- Rainwater harvester
- Sensory Pathways
​- Contemplation areas

- Raised beds
- Sensory garden
- Wildflower areas
- Pollinator beds
- Night gardens
- Bird baths
- Bee banks
- Wormery
​- Bug door
- Willow dome
​- Music walls
- Wellbeing areas

- Leaf pile
- Log piles
- Wild areas
- Herbs
- Fruit bushes
- Bog garden
​- Fairy Garden
- Bat boxes
- Mini-woodland
- Hens
​- Water walls

Inspiration

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

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