We are so glad to be back at school and we have started our journey of planting more and more in the space. A big goal for us is to build a sensory garden with some parents who have an expertise with plants and fragrance. We are also learning about winter growing.

The impact of this project has only just begun, but there has been a wonderful impact already. So far, we have brought families and teachers together to design the space with the help of Pascale and Growing Space, and we all put ideas in to a final design. We then bought materials and spent 4 days growing some new muscles building and digging and hauling to create the new space. We have 6 new planters built, lined and ready. We have put some plants in to get things started and growing over the next few weeks of sunshine, but we are waiting til the children return to school in September to do the majority of planting. We have also extended the play space within the growing space, and will also implement a willow arch and bug hotel. Our children have been to visit, and I can see how it will start a childhood of learning how to grow.

Hi everyone!
A quick update that we had a great day yesterday, building planters, putting liners inside, preparing the soil and dealing with the waste that we needed to get rid of. We have some plants arriving now also that we will get in the ground, leaving lots of space ready for the children to do planting and harvesting when we get back in September.
Laura

Hello everyone!
A little note to update everyone after a couple of days planting. We have installed 2 of the planters (sorry pic attached twice below), and have adapted the garden so create a more natural area up to the pathway. We have planted a few things, perhaps not in their final location, and the next steps are to finish the planters and get some more plants in the ground, and for me to figure out how to get rid of quite a lot of rubbish :)
Huge thanks to everyone for their help so far!
We have a final day planned next Friday 11th of August, in case anyone wants to join. I would guess we will meet from 11am or so, but we can follow up in more detail with anyone who wants to come.
Much love! Laura

Hi everyone!
Excitingly, our seed funding has been unlocked, and Pascale from Growing Space is ready to have a call and then a visit with us to help us with the next steps. We will organise a time and shout back.
With excitement :),
Laura

Ravenscourt Park Montessori – Growing Space Action Plan

Timeline: 

Our project has started already, with us preparing a garden space for growing, putting a fence around it to separate it from the rest of the nursery garden, landscaping / mowing the grass so it is ready, and planting two trees. We have communicated to parents and the teaching team, and are very lucky for 4 parents and 2 teachers who have stepped forwards to be part of our team. We will also consult with the children to get their view as we go along. 

 

Our team is:

Laura Bolton (admin)

Sarah Morris (parent team member)

Claudia Farrell (parent team member)

Erin Brown (parent team member)

Christina Haglundh (parent team member and project manager)

Denise Tan (teacher team member)

Elena Morales Contreras (teacher team member)

 

On Friday 26th May, the project team meets for the first time. We will then develop our thoughts over half-term, and will aim to start implementation in early June, so we are ready to plant before the summer holidays.

 

Budget: You don't need to share exact prices, but please share how you're planning to spend the seed funding & what costs you're anticipating to get your project up and running:

 

We plan to spend the seed funding on physical materials to create the space and labour requirements. We imagine our costs will exceed the budget, and we are happy to supplement the funds as necessary to fulfil any dreams we have for what we would like to achieve. 

 

So far we have spent:

£250 – Kristopher Mustafa landscaping

£85 – Wickes - wood chipping and compost 

 

Upcoming spend is estimated at:

£300 – railway sleepers

£100 – compost to fill containers

£500 – labour to create planters

£200 – seeds and plug plants

£50 – willow arch / den development

£100 – wood slices for a log circle

£50 – water butt

£50 – bug hotel

£200 – Water feature for biodiversity

£150 – compost heap

 

Impact: How will your community benefit from this project? Do you have any measurable goals for your project, such as the number of people that will participate? Are you hoping to spread knowledge or increase interest in a specific subject?

We hope to make growing and self-sufficiency a more normal and understood aspect of a child’s development in their time with us. We would like our children, who are raised in an urban environment with food arriving from supermarkets, to have a stronger sense of how we are connected to nature, our food life cycles, and how to care for our environment. We will involve all children at school in the space in the first phase, together with their teachers and families. In a next phase, we would consider what we could do to broaden the impact beyond our school.

 

Location: If your project requires physical space, have you decided the location? Do you have all necessary permission and permits to carry out your project at the chosen location?

We have a defined space for our Growing Space. We have all the permissions and permits required under our lease.

 

Additional questions

Please answer the questions below as much as you can. 

Growing Space will review the information you provide before your kickstart call. 

This will help save time and get you started straight on your project once you receive your seed funding!

1) Please take a few pictures of your site (at different time of the day ideally and when the sun is out).

Pictures attached! More to come,.

 

2) Please write here a small description of what you would ideally like to achieve

As a school we are passionate about the importance of playing in nature. We aim to bring this more into the daily life of the school by creating a dedicated space for growing herbs, fruits, vegetables, wild flowers, trees and other plants, as well as a space for hands on learning about nature and our life cycles. We hope this space helps also to bring together our community of children, teachers, families and other community members. We believe in the importance of climate awareness, sustainability and the challenges that our children may face in their futures, and we believe it is important to encourage a love and understanding of nature and a sense of our interdependence with it.

 

3) Please confirm the age group of children you are working with and that will be involved in the implementation of your project

Our children range in age from 2- 5.

 

4) Please give us the estimate of the number of children that your new Mini Growing Space will benefit (can be directly and indirectly)

We have approximately 35 families at our school, as well as 8 teachers and wider family members.

 

5) What activities do you plan to offer that will include your community (other than children) (for instance, parents, neighbours, extended families of children or else, elderly people) 

We plan to involve parents and wider family members in the project in the first phase, our teachers, and a local environmental group (HCGA).

 

6) What do you already have in your site that can be reused (material, structures etc)?

We might move our existing planters, and revitalise our composting system which is currently unused.

 

7) Water access - please state if you have water access on your site and if you are willing to install a water butt (not obligatory) 

We do have water access on site, and we would be excited to install a water butt.

 

8) Please confirm in writing here that you have permission from a manager or landlord (of the building or head of a school  (as necessary) that says that they are happy to make the improvement of their outdoor space and let you lead the project. 

We have necessary permissions as part of our lease.