Hawley has lots of different outdoor space with climbers, raised beds, woven willow, and an orchard comprising of; apple, pear, and peach trees within their food growing space. They also grow a range of fruit and veg, like tomatoes, beans, carrots, and salad with the students – every class gets to do some gardening at the school.
Each class has access to their own roof terrace with raised planters and the students grow a range of bulbs, herbs, and wildflowers. They would like to increase biodiversity and make the outdoor space better for pollinators and birds. They would like to do this by putting in more planters, replacing and repairing a number of existing planters, and getting in some new compost. We are supporting them with an introduction to a local company that is offering free support and donations.
They also have an Eco team headed by one of the teachers with a group of students who are really engaged. This group took part in RSPB’s Big Garden BirdWatch, are interested in applying for the Platinum Jubilee Swift nest box project for London’s Schools, have applied for Platinum Jubilee Superbloom seeds that they will sow at the school, and have applied for Camden Meadow Seed packs that they will distribute to students to plant at home.
Finally, they have a vacant tree pit that they will be planting their Camden Forest Fruit Tree in AND they are helping to grow the Camden Meadow by giving out wildflower seed packs to students.
The children are very excited about their Camden meadow seeds – we had a big assembly, the class teachers have shown the videos and we’re going to ask everyone to send in a photo on midsummer day to make a midsummer meadow collage. Hopefully something will have flowered by then!