St Gregory’s School
Set in the school’s forest garden which has raised vegetable beds and a wildflower bed including buckwheat and field marigolds. There are wood piles for insects, and a willow house and screen where we saw the whole ladybird life cycle taking place over the willow branches. A ‘bare foot walk’ includes a pebbles section, fir cones, gravel and water – clearly popular. The children were waiting for the tomato crop so they can chop them up and cook them into a pasta sauce in the fire pit and kitchen area. They had already picked lots of dandelions and combined them with other ingredients, to make dandelion cordial. Earlier in the year, the children also hatched some chicks and reared them for 6 weeks before rehoming them.

Broad Street Cygnets
A small courtyard filled with a wide array of re-used containers, from old truck tyres to discarded kitchen equipment, including: jugs, colanders, a broken toaster and
used food tins. On the ground a range of larger items donated by children’s families, including a freezer drawer containing peppers, an old barbeque, pedal bin, a potty and a beautifully decorated watering can with sunflowers. All of these re-used containers contained creative colour combinations of edible and insect friendly
plants.

Caring Kindergartens
A large spacious garden with a range different areas. There is a lovely wildlife meadow near the entrance with vetch, ox-eye daisies, cornflowers and a substantial
bug hotel. In the vegetable area, pumpkins grown from last year’s saved seed are developing well, as are tomatoes and potatoes. A great feature is the clover maze, a
spiral path mown through an area of long grass, containing lots of clover and ragwort for insects. Behind is a fence with a variety of shrubs and raspberry plants.

Footsteps Nurseries
The children had learnt about the life cycle of the butterfly, so lots of nods to butterfly attracting plants and information on the wall and structures. The children germinated peas indoors, then planted them outside where they check on them daily. Food grown in the vegetable planters is used to supplement the guinea pigs’ (Sausage and Mash) diet. The wooden planters containing trees have been made from old pallets. The garden also includes a delightful hands-on potting/play area and a ‘donation station’, where items gifted to the nursery such as plant pots are kept. Gnomes are regularly found to move around the garden highlighting different things to find – currently part of the butterfly story.

Bridgetown Primary School
There are 2 gardening clubs. Younger and older children have been helping to refresh the Memorial Garden, which has all been done without spending any money.
Pallets have been used to make new entrance gates and an old traffic cone has found a new life as a hose-reel. Sunflower seeds from last year have been grown in
2 different areas and will be compared for growth. There is a nice wild area near the entrance and there is a circle of pots, where each class has adopted one to look after. There is a vegetable area with strawberries, chillies and runner beans. Last year’s leaves are being used as a mulch for the hostas. The older children have
created ‘rot pots’ so that they can monitor the rate of degradation for different materials as they decompose.

Alveston Primary School
Using their keen Garden Club members a new area was developed. A range of small and differently shaped beds containing mixtures of flowers and vegetables
including tomatoes, marrows and beans. One bed was dedicated to the Coronation wild flowers. Plants were labelled with old ice lolly sticks and homemade picture
labels. Old bricks were used to edge some planted areas – growing Marigolds in the larger holes.

Old milk bottles are used as watering implements and for growing lettuces. Milk bottle tops were used in plant pots to help keep the soil moist by minimising water
loss.

Painted stones decorated by the students were also used as bed edges. Sunflower seeds collected from last year were planted and a living wall is being developed
using a pallet. Displayed was an array of beautifully drawn flowers by the pupils.

Welcombe Hills School
We were greeted by an enormously enthusiastic group of young people. Clearing an old greenhouse and garden area many plants and vegetables were sown in the
greenhouse before outside planting. There is a dedicated “how to grow seeds” corner in the greenhouse. The vegetables included sweet potatoes, tomatoes,
artichokes, chard, cucumber, broccoli and cabbage.

A clever use of an old filing cabinet with plants in each drawer – herbs near the bottom and petunias in the top to match the hanging baskets displayed in between a
bug hotel. A rampant rose created shade over part of the greenhouse. Despite their potatoes being eaten by Badgers the other vegetables are surviving!

Stratford Primary School
At the entrance a newly planted mixed hedge has been planted. With advice from the Woodland Trust it includes hawthorn, sloe, cornus and beech. They are in the
process of developing some new garden projects, in consultation with the school Eco Committee. A range of water butts have been installed to use for play as well as
plants.

Lots of colourful large and standard size tyres house a plum tree and a cross section of plants along with some pots of hostas, heurchera and sunflowers. A large
buddlea sits in a corner creating some shade. Some magnificent ivy sits over an outbuilding roof attracting moths and over a large clematis hides a birds nest. Bird
feeders abound.

Old Station Nursery (Polkadot)
On arrival there is a substantial wildlife garden to greet you. Inside there is another area planned to be an allotment but currently wild, including Cimrobara, ragwort, ox-eye daisies and ladies bedstraw. It sits alongside the secret garden on one side and a sheltered kitchen mud garden with herbs. You can also find blackberries and a large cherry plum hedge.

To welcome you into the play area is a planted up train.