Every school in Ireland has a tired corner or left over piece of ground which is serving no purpose other than facilitating the growing of weeds! Our client, a primary school in Finglas, has asked us to design an outdoor area for the pupils to grow fruit and vegetables and to create an environment that facilitates outdoor learning.
Here’s what we came up with:
A colourful picket fence will enclose the area, creating a safe space for the teachers to carry out the outdoor learning. The ugly palisade fence will be clad with painted, weatherproof plywood sheets on which various nature murals can be painted by the pupils. This is a great way for young children to take ownership of the garden. Some of these boards could be painted with blackboard paint for some outdoor lessons. 
The ground surface needs to be level, durable and low maintenance, for this reason we have chosen a colourful 400x400mm Flag, laid on a mortar base with mortered joints. This paving would normally be laid on a sand bed with kiln dried sand joints. This will keep the paving low maintenance and provide a weed free surface. The space is divided with some timber pergolas for growing climbers or possibly peas. There are four large raised sleeper beds arranged in one area which is surrounded by paving on all sides so all can get involved in the activities.
It is widely documented that designated school gardens encourage pupils to become active and independent learners. Taking pupils outside and encouraging them to undertake investigative work involves a different kind of learning in which pupils take greater control over their own learning and in which the teacher’s role becomes more facilitative. The cognitive learning outcomes from such work are reported to include greater scientific knowledge and understanding, using scientific techniques, enhanced literacy and numeracy and the use of a wider vocabulary across all areas of the curriculum.
It is difficult these days with budget cuts and so on for schools to afford to invest in these types of activities and outdoor learning experiences, however in my opinion it would make more sense to be spending money on this, instead of Ipads and sophisticated computerised blackboards. Children these days are loosing touch with their environment and how nature works and are spending more time in front of computers, rather than experiencing and learning outside. These types of facilities do not cost a huge amount to install and if installed correctly can last for years.
