School Garden Design
In collaboration with the Snap Dragon Collective.
We asked students at Blaise High School what they wanted from an unloved and littered corner of the school. They said, “a space for nature, to grow food, to hang out and to be creative.”
Over nine months, we supported them to design and build their vision, creating a much-loved new area of the school.
Outdoor ‘classroom’
The students wanted a shelter where they could hang out, make Tik Tok videos, and art. We worked with them to design and build a robust structure that will become more secluded as climbers planted by the students grow up around the frame.
Special lessons and 1:1s with the school’s Thrive Practitioner now take place here.
Wildlife pond
The introduction of a wildlife pond made from a recycled pond liner has bought newts to the site already.
Two weeks of digging incredibly hard ground left the students triumphant when it was complete. The pond now draws a crowd appealing to the new Year Sevens and tough Year Tens alike.
Veg beds & nature hedge
Using recycled scaffolds, students built raised beds and became pretty skilled with drills and saws in the process. Peas, beans, red cabbage, perennial kale, cauliflower, potatoes, tomatoes, radish, carrots, strawberries, blackcurrants and herbs, were just a few of the students’ achievements.
The “Dead Hedge”
Before veg bed building began, we created a shelter belt and cleared the site by making a ‘nature hedge’, commonly known as a dead hedge. This uses dead plant material on site continues to grow as the site is cleared.
A space to relax
Our planting scheme centred around plants that: a) will survive the school summer holidays without being watered b) attract pollinators, and c) are tactile and fun to stroke, smell or pick for teas. See further photos below.
School feedback
“The project has energised our students to create a diverse and dynamic outdoor space.
It has involved our most vulnerable and difficult-to-reach pupils. Tessa and Charli, throughout our project, created an exciting and accessible process and made all our students feel welcomed and involved by creating a supportive and engaging atmosphere.
The physicality of the project has helped build confidence in our students and has reinforced a real sense of belonging for them within our school community. Our students felt connected to the whole process while being able to take real ownership of specific areas. From "Chief Digger" to " Team Year Seven Willow Den" students have found their niche and new talents.
The freedom to be creative and to be part of a process has also helped to support their mental health and well-being. Tessa and Charli kept this at the heart of the project throughout. Their genuine openness and kindness allowed our students to feel safe and listened to while their drive and energy helped our students to create a really exciting outdoor space..”
— Mr. J Bransfield, Thrive Practitioner, Blaise High School
“I enjoyed learning loads of new things, especially using a drill and saw. Getting to spend time outside was nice.”
But don’t just take our word for it, see what the students said.
“I liked making the pond, it was hard but fun”
“I liked watering everything and seeing it all get bigger. I was very good at digging. ”
“Doing the garden was fun. I enjoyed the carpentry and making the building. Tess and Charli were nice. Having something to look to on a Friday helped me through the week. ”
“My favourite parts were the planting and making wires for the climbing plants. I was good at making holes to keep the structure steady. It was also really fun when we watered the plants. ”
Do you want help with a garden or landscape in a shared setting, such as a community space or place of work?
We facilitate a collaborative design process to ensure that all users of the space feel they’ve had a stake in the design.
