Nottinghamshire Schools Garden Design Competition

SEARCH FOR BUDDING JUNIOR GARDEN DESIGNERS
Nottinghamshire children invited to design the ultimate alfresco classroom …

 A countywide schools competition has been launched to seek out the region’s budding junior garden designers – with the winning school receiving a professional garden design consultation from award winning local company, Lime Orchard (worth £2,000).
Nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools in the area have been tasked with the challenge, which invites students (with a little help from the teaching staff!) to design an inspirational outdoor learning space.
The project, which requires entries to be submitted s via a sketch and short written description - is designed to help local learning establishments appreciate the proven benefits of the alfresco classroom. A survey of 700 schools and early learning settings, commissioned by Learning through Landscapes (the national school grounds charity) proved that schools which have invested in and improved their outdoor facilities for pupils, experience significant tangible benefits such as

• enhanced pupil behaviour (73% of respondents)
• a reduction in bullying (64% of respondents)
• improved attitudes towards learning (65% of respondents)
• better social interaction (84% of respondents)
• increased community / parental involvement (66% of respondents)

And in June of this year, the Royal Horticultural Society released findings from a study of 1,300 teachers and 10 schools which confirmed that taking part in gardening can make a child feel happy and boost their development’. It found children in schools that encouraged gardening became more resilient, confident and lived healthier lives, resulting in the RHS saying ‘school gardening should be used as a key teaching tool, rather than as an extra-curricular activity’.
Judy Behl, managing director of Lime Orchard comments:

"There is a vast body of evidence to prove that children really thrive in schools with a good outdoor learning facility. Having been involved in a national RHS Chelsea Flower Show project to design the garden that ‘children really really want’, we are very much aware of how much enthusiasm children have for the alfresco classroom. Following on from our RHS Chelsea experience, it made total sense to capture some of that inspiration and passion amongst local children here in the county of Nottingham”.

The competition, will run from October 2010 to February 2011, with judging taking place during March 2011.

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Visit our Schools Garden Design Page for more inspiration!