In 2011, Crown Primary School in Inverness created a beautiful and ecological garden in the playground of the school, as an outdoor resource for the school, and wider community. Although the structure of the garden is now firmly in place, as "a garden is never ever finished", work goes on. Seasonal changes bring new opportunities for growth, learning and recreation. It is a joint and ongoing initiative between Crown Primary School, the School's Eco Group and a working group of parents, but our aim continues to be broaden the involvement of pupils and as many parents, carers and members of our community as possible in the garden. Through the schools "Citizenship Groups", which operate on a rotational basis and are made up vertically of pupils from P1 to P7 there is a now a regular outdoor presence in the garden with a range of projects or tasks which promote an understanding of the natural world, and a respect for looking after the environment. This is in addition to any outdoor teaching or learning opportunities which individual classes take advantage of.
Constructing the garden was only made possible through funding from Awards for All, Green Invermess and from the School Parent Council; and for this we are continually grateful. To maintain the garden, we remain open to any help or funds (however limited) that people can offer. Keep checking our blog to find out what's going on in the garden; and please get in touch if you'd like to be involved in any way.