After school club: gardening

For the past four years, class teacher and Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) member, Nick Hasted, has organised lunchtime and after-school gardening clubs at his school, Hayward Primary in Devon. At present, 18 children regularly take part, all aged between seven and ten years old. The current school garden was inspired by a trip to the Westonbirt Festival of the Garden, and has a large sculptural dragon at the heart of it. Originally built so that the tail of the dragon was the planting space for the garden, the design has had to be expanded to accommodate the club’s popularity. Today the dragon sits in the centre of a garden, while the children plant all around it!

Since signing up to the RHS’ Campaign for School Gardening the free seeds, useful planting tips and lesson plans on how to incorporate a school garden into every aspect of the curriculum, have been so helpful. The children’s joy and enthusiasm for gardening has been unstoppable. They have already reached the scheme’s second bench mark and are well on their way to completing the next level.