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Green Fingers and Growing Minds
'Special gardens by special children'
Palatine School and Oak Grove College Gardens
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| The Development of the Gardens |
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Since 1998 the grounds of Palatine School have been transformed.
Pupils, staff and volunteers have created a series of themed gardens. These include a large pond, wildlife area, picnic areas, sculptures, mosaics, rockeries, native hedges, extensive tree planting, a network of paths, a maze, herb garden, sensory area and a wonderful collection of plants.
Oak Grove College opened
October 2005
and began the development of their site. Two years on this is a most
exciting project. This website contains details of all these areas, along with a plan of the Palatine Gardens to help you find your way round. There is also information about details of awards received, dates of openings, acknowledgements of our supporters in the community and future developments. We hope you enjoy your visit to our gardens. |
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| Our Philosophy |
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Increasingly, we ask ourselves questions about the kind of society we live in and the values we hold. At Palatine Special School we believe that when we lose our closeness to nature we become alienated from ourselves and each other. For children especially, there is a need to move back and redefine our links with the natural world. The garden provides the ideal outdoor classroom for this to happen. What we have undertaken is at the cutting edge of government thinking, that schools should use their grounds to give pupils first hand experience of caring for their environment, while at the same time developing knowledge and skills through experience. Accordingly our mottos, I can and I will and Green fingers and Growing minds, have guided the landscaping of our grounds and gardens. It is our belief that an intimate, dynamic relationship exists between the environment and those who live and work in it. As well as shaping nature we are also shaped by it. The more we change the spaces we live in, the more we are changed ourselves until we come to realise our interdependence with our surroundings. The government places great stress on social inclusion in its educational policy. At Palatine we have found that the school gardening project has achieved all this and much more. It is a revelation to see children digging, designing, planting, building and showing visitors around what to them is a great personal achievement. It needs to be emphasised that these same children have difficulties with the demands of the National Curriculum, but through the Outdoor Curriculum they learn confidence, physical strength, self- esteem, perseverance, social skills and lessons in life that the classroom cannot provide. Most notable are the dramatic changes in behaviour and attitude and a sense of caring for the environment. |
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| Can you help? |
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Palatine School has re-opened as a generic special school for primary aged children from 2-11 with a wide range of special needs. It is undergone major refurbishment to allow for this range of provision. The grounds/gardens are being maintained by a very dedicated group of volunteers. If you would like to be more involved or help in any way with Palatine School gardens please contact Jennie Rollings on jrollings@wsgfl'org.uk or William Bauress at the address below. We can always use more willing helpers.
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