I have just got back from a meeting with the head at my sons primary school where I have offered to set up a lunchtime gardening club. The offer was snatched up :D The main school garden is quite small and at the moment is very overgrown and consists of a central raised bed surrounded by a small walkway with some ground level strips around the edge. My first plan would therefore need to be to clear out anything that shouldn't be there and see what's left.

As I have never done anything like this before, I have now got a bit anxious and wondered if there was anyone who may have some useful advice or ideas about what I need to think about or what we could do. I have informed her about the Morrisons Lets Grow scheme so hopefully we should be able to get some more equipment etc from there (although I understand the school has some gardening equipment too).

The RHS have a Campaign for School Gardening (http://www.rhs.org.uk/schoolgardening/teachershome/resources/startingschoolgardening/default.aspa) website.

There's a downloadable guide at the right hand side, which lists quite a few websites and resources.

Have a look at these two sites;

http://www.thekidsgarden.co.uk/
http://www.wildlifegardener.co.uk/KidsWildlifeCategory.html

Lots of good info on both.

You could speak to other schools who have them - I think there's one at Westways School in Crookes that works on their wildlife garden

Thanks everso much for the links - I had seen a couple of them but not all :thumbsup: Just got to work out what Im going to do when we start next week as since I suggested the club, someone has already gone in and cleared the site (even removing viable plants unfortunately) - that was going to be our first task :cry: I have realised that there is another area to work on too, but that one mostly consists of shrubery - hopefully that one won't be totally cleared when we get there :lol:

I help at the garden at Westways. If you want any info or to come and have a look pm me :)

how's it coming along Lisa? :)

how's it coming along Lisa? :)

I identified a previosly unused and very overgrown area for a vegetable garden that we could maybe put raised beds onto. The veg garden is very nice and coming along well I think (I have lots of eager volunteers - too many for me to handle some days - which is lovely) - maybe I should post some pictures of before and after:) The site took a bit of clearing and I really didn't think it was a good idea to let the kids get involved in that, but luckily I got the support of the caretaker to help me so we cleared it reasonably well. I have got our Friends group to pay for the project.

Just before Easter, we made 4 1m x 1m, 2 tier raised beds using Link-a-bord, filled them with a mixture of compost and top soil and so far have planted red and white onion sets and some strawberries, then covered the canopies in a couple of layers of fleece as I wasn't sure how cold it might get - I guess I will find out if they survived next week :lol:. I have some peas and beetroot that we started off in February in toilet tubes to transplant when we get back next week now I have hardened them off. I have plans for carrots (short ones and purple haze to see if there is much difference in taste), dwarf beans, herbs - in their own pot, radishes, lettuce, leaf beet, potatoes (when they arrive) and courgette (in its own pot) which will hopefully crop before the Summer. When the greenhouse arrives (courtesy of Morrisons Lets Grow vouchers) we have tomatoes (gardeners delight), peppers and loads of baby bedding plant flowers and nastursium, french marigold and Cosmos seedlings that I now have no space on my windowsills for :D

For the flower garden we have sweet peas (sown in toilet tubes) and some giant sunflowers to plant up and it is currently full of daffodils, tulips and crocuses - we also made some winter containers using bulbs, pansies and primroses which are still flowering and looking quite nice). The weeds that were in the bed before we started seem to have started to grow again so we need to tackle that soon:( We have calendula, cornflowers, poppy and poached egg plant seeds to sow there but the weedlings need to go first.

Its been busy but I am so glad that I started it as the kids really seem to to coming round to the idea of planting vegetables :thumbsup:

Few ideas for you if you have the time, space and funding to do them,
Wormery, Pond, log/rock pile for wildlife, mini orchard with dwarf fruit trees, sensory walk with lavender, herbs, pampass grass etc, compost bins, water butt, rockery.

For more info about the fruit trees get in touch with the forestry commission I think.
They can plant them in Autumn and can also provide you with other plants for free.

Which school are you working at?
I have done some of these things at a school in burngreave.

If you need any advice give me a ring.

James