Tudor Grange pupils setting up at the 2010 show

Schools Build Gardens With A Scientific Twist 11th May 2011

The UN’s ‘International Year of Chemistry’ is the exciting theme for this year’s School Gardens at the Malvern Spring Gardening Show (12 – 15 May).

Seven schools from in and around Worcestershire, Herefordshire and the West Midlands are creating gardens with a scientific twist, and have been enjoying a programme of workshops using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) which have inspired their designs.

Their efforts have been supported by BAM Construction.

Stourbridge College is presenting ‘Alchemy’ at this weekend’s Show. Designed by construction and horticulture students, it incorporates four symbols of alchemy – fire, water, air and earth – represented by four raised beds. The garden will be transported to the College’s new site in Brierley Hill, and the plants have been chosen for their suitability in an urban setting, and their tolerance of a heavy clay soil and air pollution.

Also in the West Midlands, ‘Elements Around Us’, by Park Hall Academy, Solihull, takes the Periodic Table and the Elements as its theme. The three sides of the boundary represent the three states of matter; solids, liquids and gases, and the garden features a range of diverse structures using materials such as metal, wire, plastic bags and Perspex. Interactive exhibits show different types of chemical reactions.

Year 4 pupils at Charford First School in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, are building ‘Chemistry For Life’ – a delightful garden inspired by an atom helix. with pathways, It uses recycled materials, test tubes with coloured water and plants, a small pond and seating. Plants have been chosen for their low maintenance, colour, texture and aroma to encourage the exploration of the senses.

Parkside Middle School, also in Bromsgrove, have used a prism as the main feature of ‘Spring Into Science’, which separates white light into the colours of the spectrum. There’s a DNA arc which uses double helix strands, and a central ‘Bunsen Burner’ fountain. Pupils investigated how universal indicators interact with acids and alkalis then separated colours using chromatography to create a colourful fish mural.

‘Garden Matters’ by Tudor Grange Academy has a recycling theme, and Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 students have been encouraged to ‘think outside the box’ and explore how explosions, chemical reactions and life itself can be interpreted in a garden environment.

Pershore College School Groups, Worcestershire, present ‘The Chemist’s Lab’ garden, showing a variety of equipment and experiments. The garden is vertical in its approach and colour and texture are used to give the effect of smoke and liquid.

The Larches School (Clifford House Residential Ltd) in Leominster, Herefordshire has also created an outdoor science lab which shows how chemistry is helping to promote sustainability through the development of organic and disease resistant fruit, vegetable and bio-fuels.

Editor’s Notes:

The Malvern Spring Gardening Show is a fund raising event and a joint venture of the Three Counties Agricultural Society (Registered charity no: 511868) and the Royal Horticultural Society (No: 222879).

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