Spring Term January to April 2025 

Growing Garden Project - Nature and Biodiversity 

Our school is committed to enhancing our outdoor space by creating a Growing Garden Project that will include a wildflower garden and a vegetable-growing area. This initiative aims to promote biodiversity, provide valuable hands-on learning experiences for our students, and strengthen community involvement.

We are starting by growing potatoes, tomatoes, and peas, giving our students the opportunity to understand the process of growing food from seed to harvest. Alongside this, the wildflower garden will help attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies, supporting local ecosystems and creating natural habitats for a variety of insects.

Our school has already made significant progress towards this project. We were proud to win the Primary Education Green Award, securing £750, and we also received a £500 grant from Tesco’s Stronger Starts initiative. With this funding, we have been able to build the base of the garden, and the project is now well underway.

This additional grant will enable us to purchase plants, seeds, and essential materials so that our Eco Council can complete the project in time for harvesting. A key part of this initiative is involving all students, parents, and staff in planting, maintaining, and learning from the garden. The space will serve as a fantastic resource for outdoor learning, linking to science lessons on plant growth, adaptation, and environmental awareness.

Our Eco Garden Project is a unique and innovative initiative that will provide a hands-on, outdoor learning space for our pupils while promoting environmental awareness, sustainability, and community engagement.

Addressing Key Needs & Challenges

• Enhancing Outdoor Learning – Our school is committed to providing enriching learning experiences beyond the classroom. The eco garden will serve as a living classroom where pupils can explore topics such as plant growth, biodiversity, and environmental change in a real-world setting.

• Supporting Wellbeing – Having access to green spaces has been shown to improve mental health and wellbeing, helping pupils develop a connection with nature and providing a calm, reflective space for outdoor activities.

• Encouraging Healthy Eating & Sustainability – By growing vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and peas, pupils will learn about where food comes from, healthy eating habits, and the importance of sustainable food production.

• Biodiversity & Conservation – Our wildflower area will attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies, creating an eco-friendly habitat that supports local wildlife. This will help pupils understand the importance of protecting nature and ecosystems.

Pupil Involvement & Community Engagement

This project is designed and led by our pupils, particularly our Eco Council, who have been actively involved in planning, choosing plants, and creating ideas for how the space will be used. Additionally, we aim to involve all classes and parents in planting and maintaining the garden, making it a true community effort.

An Innovative & Lasting Impact

By integrating wildflowers with vegetable growing, our eco garden is a multifunctional, sustainable space that will benefit pupils, teachers, and the wider community. It will also support key areas of the curriculum, particularly in science (habitats, adaptation, life cycles) and environmental studies.

This project is more than just a garden – it’s a learning hub, a sanctuary for wildlife, and a space where our pupils can develop skills, knowledge, and a deep appreciation for nature.

 Educational & Long-Term Impact

By embedding the eco garden into our curriculum and outdoor learning, it will remain an integral part of school life for years to come. Pupils will develop long-term skills in gardening, sustainability, and environmental stewardship, ensuring that each new generation contributes to its upkeep and growth.

This approach will guarantee that our Eco Garden is not just a one-time project, but a lasting, self-sustaining resource for our school and community.

 Staff & Eco Council Check-ins

• Teacher Visits: Staff members who live locally will check in periodically to ensure the garden is thriving.

• Eco Council Leaders: Older pupils or Eco Council members may be invited back for special summer garden sessions, possibly combined with a summer gardening club or picnic days.

Integrating the Garden into the Curriculum

Our Eco Garden Project will be a valuable learning space, supporting multiple subjects and providing hands-on experiences for all pupils, including our SEND learners. Here’s how we plan to integrate it into teaching and learning:

1. Science 

• Plant Life Cycles & Adaptation – Pupils will observe how plants grow from seeds to harvest and explore how different plants adapt to their environment.

• Biodiversity & Habitats – Studying insects, pollinators, and the role of wildflowers in supporting ecosystems.

• Sustainability & Environmental Awareness – Teaching about composting, soil health, and how growing food locally benefits the planet. During Science Week, children learned about adaptation and change. 

• Year 4 visited the Natural History Museum to learn about Plants and Habitats and viewed the new museum's dinosaur garden. 

2. PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education) 

• Wellbeing & Mindfulness – Gardening provides a calming space for pupils to connect with nature, supporting mental health and emotional regulation.

• Teamwork & Responsibility – Pupils will work together to plant, maintain, and harvest, developing key life skills and a sense of achievement.

• Healthy Eating & Nutrition – Growing vegetables helps children learn about healthy food choices and sustainability.

3. PE (Physical Education & Outdoor Activity) 

• Active Gardening – Digging, planting, and weeding promote physical movement and motor skills.

• Outdoor Exploration – Pupils will engage in nature walks, scavenger hunts, and sensory activities, especially beneficial for SEND pupils.

4. Outdoor Reading & Literacy Development 

• Storytelling & Poetry – The garden provides a tranquil reading space, inspiring creative writing and poetry about nature.

• Cross-Curricular Learning – Linking books and topics (e.g., A Planet Full of Plastic for younger pupils, eco-themed persuasive writing for older students).

5. Supporting SEND Pupils 

• Sensory Learning – Engaging the senses through touching soil, smelling flowers, and listening to nature, we have planted curry plant, herbs, and mint for children to smell and touch. 

• Therapeutic Benefits – A safe, quiet space for calming activities, improving focus and confidence.

• Hands-On Learning – Practical activities to support engagement and alternative learning styles while getting involved in digging and watering. 

By embedding the garden across the curriculum, we will create a dynamic, inclusive, and engaging learning environment that benefits all pupils.

Greatest Success of Our Eco-Schools Garden Project 

The biggest success of our Eco-Schools journey this year has been the creation and development of our school garden, transforming an unused space into a thriving, educational, and biodiverse area for pupils and the wider community.

Key Successes:

Full Pupil Involvement: Every class has contributed to the garden, from planting and watering to learning about biodiversity and sustainability. The Eco-Committee has taken a leading role in organising and maintaining the space. Year 2 grew their own green beans ready to be planted in the garden. 

Growing Our First Crops: We successfully planted and harvested potatoes, and peas, allowing pupils to experience the full cycle of food growth, from seed to plate.

Increased Biodiversity: Our wildflower area has attracted bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, creating a positive impact on local wildlife and supporting our science lessons on habitats and adaptation.

Community Engagement: Parents, teachers, and local businesses have come together to support, fund, and maintain the garden, making it a true community-driven success.

Integration into Learning: The garden has been used for science experiments, outdoor reading, PSHE discussions on healthy eating, and sensory learning for SEND pupils, enriching the curriculum in meaningful ways.

This project has not only created a beautiful green space but also fostered environmental responsibility, teamwork, and hands-on learning for all involved.

The Result

Despite these challenges, we successfully built a green space in our urban school, engaged both staff and pupils, and created an inspiring outdoor learning environment. This project is now a core part of our school’s culture, teaching children valuable lessons about sustainability, biodiversity, and environmental responsibility.

How Our Growing Garden Supports Global Citizenship 

Our Growing Garden Project connects directly to the principles of global citizenship, helping pupils understand their role in caring for the planet and making a positive impact on their community and beyond.

1. Sustainability & Environmental Responsibility 

• Teaches pupils the importance of sustainable food production, reducing food miles, and growing their own food instead of relying on mass agriculture.

• Encourages discussions about climate change, carbon footprints, and how small local actions contribute to a global movement for sustainability.

2. Biodiversity & Conservation 

• Our wildflower garden supports pollinators, which are essential for global food production and ecosystems.

• Pupils learn how human activity affects biodiversity and what they can do to protect it, linking local actions to global conservation efforts.

3. Fair Trade & Global Food Awareness 

• By growing our own vegetables and herbs, pupils explore how food is produced worldwide, discussing topics like fair trade, ethical farming, and food security as well as healthy living. 

• Helps children appreciate where their food comes from and how different cultures rely on sustainable farming.

4. Community Engagement & Global Connections 

• The project encourages teamwork, responsibility, and respect for nature, all key values of global citizenship.

• Involves parents, staff, fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility—just as global citizenship promotes collaboration across nations.

5. Outdoor Learning & Wellbeing 

• Being in nature improves mental health and wellbeing, aligning with the idea that a sustainable world also includes caring for people’s well-being globally.

• Encourages mindfulness and respect for the environment, helping pupils develop a deeper connection to the world around them.

Conclusion

Our Growing Garden empowers pupils to become responsible, informed, and active global citizens. It helps them understand how local actions—such as planting flowers, reducing waste, and growing food—can have a positive impact on the environment, biodiversity, and sustainability worldwide. 

On Wednesday, 2nd April, we were lucky enough to have Rob Levett come in and do he final planting workshop with our Eco Council children. We all got involved with digging, planting green beans, potatoes, and herbs like lavender, mint, chocolate mint, and curry plant. We planted sunflowers and wild flowers. Our wildflower garden is looking amazing. 

 We wanted to send a huge thank you to Rob Levett from Made2Play for coming to Tudor Primary School and being part of our Eco Wild Garden project. The children absolutely loved the planting workshop—you made them so enthusiastic about growing food and caring for the environment! Your energy and passion were truly inspiring, and it was wonderful to see the excitement on their faces.

This project is incredibly important to us, as it not only teaches the children how to grow plants and food but also helps them understand the importance of looking after nature. Thanks to your support, our garden will now bring more biodiversity into the school, creating new homes for wildlife and making a lasting impact. We can't wait to send you photos of the progress once the plants start growing.

 Carbon Calculation and Environmental Review 

This academic year, our Eco-Committee prepared and delivered a Carbon Calculation Report, which is attached below. The report was presented to peers, leadership teams, and parents, highlighting our school’s estimated carbon footprint of 318.04 tonnes per year. The findings showed that fuel and electricity usage were the biggest contributors to our environmental impact.

As part of our revised action plan, we aim to reduce energy consumption starting from the autumn term. Some key steps we plan to take include:

• Speaking with the business manager about switching to a greener energy provider.
• Encouraging energy-saving habits among students and staff, such as turning off lights and devices when not in use.
• Exploring energy-efficient solutions, such as LED lighting and better insulation.

As part of our commitment to sustainability, we conducted an Environmental Review to assess how much pupils understand about our school’s environment and to identify key areas for improvement. This review helped us evaluate our current environmental impact and set goals for future action.

Key Areas of Focus:

1. Energy Usage 

   • We assessed how well students and staff understand energy conservation and identified where we can reduce electricity and fuel consumption in the school.

2. Waste Management & Recycling 

   • The review looked at how effectively we separate and recycle waste, and how we can encourage better waste reduction habits.

3. Biodiversity & Green Spaces 

   • We examined the school’s green areas and how we can enhance them by planting more trees and creating wildlife-friendly spaces.

4. Water Conservation 

   • Pupils reflected on their water usage and ways to minimize waste, such as turning off taps and collecting rainwater for gardening.

5. Sustainable Transport 

   • We explored how students and staff travel to school and ways to encourage eco-friendly alternatives like walking, cycling, or carpooling.

Through this review, we identified areas where we are doing well and where we need to improve. The findings have been integrated into our Eco-Action Plan, helping us focus on practical steps to make our school more environmentally friendly.

Autumn December 2024 Cut your Carbon

The School Council organised a lovely assembly for all the children to present the results of Cut Your Carbon Month and to discuss the importance of reducing carbon footprints. During the assembly, children encouraged their year groups to ask questions and get more involved in sustainability efforts. It was amazing to see the whole school actively participating in Cut Your Carbon Month.

Autumn November 2024 Cut Your Carbon Month

This month, Tudor will be participating in the Carbon-Cutting Challenge, which runs throughout November. The initiative encourages young people and their families to complete six simple actions designed to raise awareness and reduce their carbon footprint, supported by the Eco-Schools program. The campaign provides free resources, competitions, and online events to make learning about carbon emissions accessible, fun, and engaging.

Each School Council representative will conduct a survey in class every Friday to track participation. They will tally how many pupils in each class, from Years 1 to 6, have completed daily tasks. These include activities such as eating a plant-based meal, swapping a bath for a shower, turning off electrical appliances for an hour, and more. At the end of each week, the results will be calculated, and the school will also take steps to reduce its own carbon footprint. Let’s see which class can rise to the challenge and beat the target!

We’re proud to share that November’s Cut Your Carbon Month saw incredible participation from children, parents, and teachers. Well done to everyone who got involved! Not only did we reduce our carbon emissions as a school, but we also brought the whole community together to raise awareness of climate change and make a meaningful difference in our area.

Every month, nearly every child completed at least one activity daily, with participation extending to staff and parents as well. Take a look at the impressive results below!