Pupils from eight Edinburgh schools have shown their budding design skills by winning the nationwide Pocket Garden Design Competition, run by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful.
The eight schools are: Cowgate Under 5s Centre, Duddingston Primary, Hillwood Primary, Murrayburn Early Years Campus, Summerside Kindergarten, Castlebrae Community High School, Greenbank Pre-School, and Dean Park Primary.
During 2020 and 2021, 230 entries were received from 22 of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas. The winning schools received the opportunity to build and grow their designs to appear in a digital showcase.
Children, from as young as three, were challenged to design a colourful and sustainable garden that could feature at the Scottish Gardens Show at Scone Palace in late May.
Sadly, the show has had to be cancelled due to Covid restrictions but the winning schools are still growing and building their gardens and these finished gardens will be available to view in an online showcase, where the nation will also be able to vote for their favourite Pocket Garden.
Following the great success of five previous Pocket Garden competitions in past years, schools from across Scotland were encouraged to take part and develop designs for a tiny garden which reflects the four interlinked 2021 themes.
These themes include The Year of Coasts and Waters, One Planet Picnic, Wildlife Gardening and Celebrating Nature on our Doorstep.
Eve Keepax, Education and Learning Officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “Many people rediscovered a connection to nature on their doorsteps during lockdown, and the competition has encouraged young people to celebrate that through their designs.
“We are delighted that schools and young people are finding the benefits of this competition in learning and teaching about issues that are important to them. The Pocket Garden designs we received were practical, creative, challenging, sustainable and full of fun!”
Anthony McCluskey, Chair of the Garden for Life Forum, who was involved in the judging, said: “Nature is in crisis, but we can all do our bit to help wildlife in our local areas.
“Even small gardens and growing spaces can make a great contribution to supporting populations of insects like bees and butterflies, and provide homes and food for birds, hedgehogs, and amphibians. Getting close to nature is great for our mental wellbeing too, so everyone wins when we grow for wildlife.”
The winning Pocket Gardens will be available to view in the digital showcase from Saturday 5 June at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/pocketgarden. Voting for the nation’s favourite Pocket Garden will be open from 5 – 13 June.
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