Greenwood in the Community Projects
Making the community greener
This year we have already seen some tremendous results from our Greenwood in the Community scheme, where we work closely with local schools, charities, village gardens and other community organisations, by donating plants—including grasses, shrubs, perennials and bulbs—to help with their landscaping and gardening projects.
Plants provide a whole host of environmental benefits, such as improving air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide, increasing biodiversity and attracting local wildlife. Additionally, gardens and plants have huge benefits for us humans. They allow for places to enjoy peace and relaxation, as well as somewhere to appreciate a range of local wildlife. The practice of gardening also has a recognised positive effect on mental health and wellbeing.
We have donated a number of plants to different schools this year, and one of our most recent school projects was St Catherine’s Catholic Primary, where Kate Supriyadi—a year two school teacher—started a project last October. Their aim was to renovate the outside space to make it more enjoyable and educational for the schoolchildren.
Using our donated plants, a section of the outside space was transformed into a prayer sensory garden, which incorporated bug hotels and a wildflower garden, planted within a rowing boat. The sensory space provides a colourful, reflective area for the children, that will grow and evolve over time. The second part of the project was to transform the lawn space, where a broken pergola was mended and a raised bed kitchen garden was created. An area to teach Forest School was also designed, including a log store and a log circle of seating for the children to enjoy. Our donated bulbs have been used specifically within this and will bring the area to life next spring.
Prayer Sensory Garden at St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School
Over the past couple of months we have donated a selection of plants to a number of other schools, including Walberton & Binstead Primary, Barnham Junior and Summerlea Community Primary.
Walberton & Binstead Primary’s Grounds Morning
Walberton & Binstead Primary held a Grounds Morning to provide an additional learning experience for the children, where they could see and get involved in the planting process and learn how to care for them. A mixture of plants were donated, and Walberton & Binstead Primary will see an extra benefit next spring, when the bulbs grow.
Barnham Junior were very keen to transform their outdoor area to benefit their children—especially for those who have additional needs, such as sight limitations. With this in mind, we selected a variety of plants with lots of vibrant, bright colours and a variety of different textures, to bring the outdoor area to life.
Our plants that were donated to Summerlea Community Primary have been used to improve the outdoor environment for their Early Years children. Whilst planting has been taking place, the children have been enjoying caring for the plants and learning about how they can encourage them to thrive.
Walberton & Binstead Primary’s Grounds Morning
Schoolchildren learning about plant care at Summerlea Community Primary
Our donations not only help to provide a place for children to enjoy, but they also bring a fantastic opportunity for them to get involved in the gardening. Gardening engages a number of senses, including touch and smell, and helps to develop hand-eye coordination, as well as important motor skills. Children can also learn responsibility and patience as the plants grow, and how to care for their plants to help them flourish. Furthermore, gardening helps to cover other areas of the national curriculum, such as life cycles, animals, invertebrates and seasons.
These wonderful projects help to create areas for schoolchildren to reconnect with nature, and allow a better balance of indoor and outdoor learning, whilst aiding in their emotional development.
We are proud to be supporting these community planting schemes and seeing schoolchildren, teachers, local residents and the wider community benefitting from a greener environment. We aim to raise the bar this year to twenty four projects and will keep you updated along the way. Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more about our community initiatives.