How it all began – about our pilot project
Three schools in regeneration areas of Aberdeen city, one in each nominated area, were involved in the pilot project. The participating schools were:
•Bramble Brae primary school
•Woodside primary school
•Tullos primary school
One result of the pilot project, apart from the development of the gardens in each of the schools, was the creation of an educational programme and materials which can now be rolled out to other schools. The programme and materials are now freely available for everyone to use – visit Our Programme.
More specific objectives of the Garden Schools initiative are:
• The creation of, or improvement to, a space in the school that can be used as a vegetable garden.
• A developed school educational programme that includes local vegetable growing, health and nutrition benefits, recycling and composting, links to literacy, numeracy, citizenship, science and arts.
• Developing links from garden projects to raise awareness of climate change and climate actions and sustainability.
What topics are covered?
There are 8 main sections featuring all elements of the GS programme. The suggested order shown is as a guide only, based on the academic year starting in August/September – it can easily be adapted for different situations:
| Section | Topics | Suggested month |
| 1 | From School Grounds to School Gardens | August/ September |
| 2 | The mystery of growth | October |
| 3 | The secrets of the soil | November/ December |
| 4 | Crazy compost | January |
| 5 | From small to big: big seeds and germination | February |
| 6 | From planting to growing | March |
| 7 | Tending to the gardens | April |
| 8 | Harvesting and cooking | May/ June |
Stages and Awards
There are 5 recognised stages to the Garden Schools programme – described in the Garden Schools Framework. On completion of a stage, schools can apply to One Seed Forward, describing what has been achieved and which award they are applying for, complete with photographs if possible. Following evaluation, successful schools will be sent an Award Certificate via email, and gardening gift vouchers in the post.