community Gardens

GEORGE GREEN SCHOOL

 

Staff were unable to keep on top of the school garden so it had become severely overgrown and dishevelled. RenewEL swung into action. Over the course of a few weeks the maintenance team, complete with hoe, sickle, shears and rakes, beat back the brambles, bindweed, nettles and ivy; removed the rubbish accumulated over five years; shored up the structures; cleaned and repaired the greenhouse and polytunnel and dredged two ponds we had found buried under the overgrowth.

 

Once cleared, the team could plan what the school could do with the garden. We rebuilt the infrastructure of the garden, installing gravel and woodchip pathways and natural wicker fencing to break the site into distinct areas; knocking down existing fences and opening the area up; repurposing the greenhouse and polytunnel from storage sheds into productive organic growing areas; shoring up raised bed growing areas and reconditioning the soils by application of composts and earthworms. We also built a raised seating area, which is used by staff to relax and unwind. RenewEL also created a native hedgerow on the borders and planted a wood, at last count RenewEL had planted 138 new trees on site, all native British species.

 

We created specific wildlife habitats, built and installed bat and bird nesting boxes and replanted the water features with native British wetland plants.

 

Core to the project was the involvement and education of the students. Working with a committed teacher, RenewEL has run weekly gardening and permaculture classes, as well as multi-day holiday courses, a curriculum which is in the second year of operation and has seen about 40 children receive some agricultural education. We have worked alongside children from Year 7 to Sixth Form; rebuilding and repurposing the gardens, teaching them about food production from field to fork, getting the children to grow organic produce from seeds then used in the school kitchens. One student went on to do work experience with RenewEL.

 

This year we introduced a mushroom and soft fruits project. The children have helped build new planters, manage organic waste, learned how to tend to the crops, manage five beehives, and created wildlife habitats to improve biodiversity. RenewEL has also worked with the wider school community, supplying produce to the school kitchens, conducted classes with SEN children and assisted in lessons on Geography, Art, CDT, Science and Food Technology, as well as working with the school administration to attain Green Flag Eco-School status.