St Mary, St Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

The students’ Gardening Club at St Mary’s School has just been rewarded for its enthusiasm and dedication to the green-fingered art by none other than the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

The club meets once a week to learn new skills and gain a heightened appreciation of the environment, enriching the whole school in the process with initiatives such as Chelsea Flower Show-inspired raised beds, a community produce stall and sensory and wildlife gardens.
The RHS Campaign for School Gardening is a nationwide initiative to encourage and support learning through gardening. Their Level 3 and Level 4 School Gardening Awards celebrate the wide-ranging achievements of the St Mary’s Gardening Club and in particular for its raised beds and the Duke of Edinburgh ‘Earth Days’ that were held to enhance the students’ learning. 
Students have been guided and encouraged by St Mary’s dedicated gardening team, Sarah and Philip, who have introduced new skills such as propagating and how to be planet-friendly, wildlife-loving gardeners! Plans for the highest, Level 5 award are germinating rapidly and will involve community engagement with parents and potentially other schools and charities. 

Julia Hutchinson, Outdoor Learning Coordinator, said:

"The Gardening Club is delighted to receive these awards from the revered RHS, and especially the seeds, learning resources and garden centre vouchers that accompanied them! Sarah and Philip, our school gardeners, have been instrumental in gaining these awards, leading the Club through activities, come rain or shine."

Outdoor learning is incorporated into the curriculum at St Mary’s wherever possible, and with the Gardening Club working hand in hand with the School’s Eco Committee and Wellbeing Committee, the students can feel for themselves the proven links between plants, nature and wellbeing.
And if you want an idea of how our gardens are growing, keep an eye on our community stall full of plants and produce (term-time only).