Group: Little Missenden C of E School
Project: Development of School Garden Area
Grant: £500
Fund: Green Schools
The Need
The Garden Area at Little Missenden C of E School was becoming tired and unusable, with rotting tables and benches. It was not able to be used effectively by the children and was difficult to access thanks to the poor layout and lack of usable paths.
The Impact
A Heart of Bucks grant of £500 from the Green Schools Fund enabled them to redesign and rejuvenate the area, allowing the students to use it daily and more effectively.
Raised beds and a vegetable garden have been built, allowing the children to experience each stage of vegetable growth from seed to harvest. A sensory area has been created, filled with aromatic herbs such as peppermint, and a mud kitchen has been installed to encourage exploratory play. The sunken rock pool made from an old bathtub has attracted exciting new insect life to the garden, supporting local biodiversity.
A Community Party Day has been held, where parents and children painted old tyres to create planters for colourful flowers. Old pallets have been donated and used to build flower beds and create a compost area, and woodchip has been laid to create paths.
We are hugely grateful for the grant which we received. Developing our garden area has been a hugely successful project.
This project has inspired the children to take an active role in caring for and enjoying the garden, encouraging curiosity, exploration, and more time spent outdoors. Improved accessibility has transformed the space into a valuable learning environment, supporting Science lessons and Forest School activities throughout the year. The children are excited to continue nurturing and developing the garden, watching it grow and change with the seasons.
