Below is advice from two school -- Brick Street Public School and Lord Roberts Public School -- on how they got their gardens started, successes and challenges, maintenance, funding and more.

Brick Street School’s Penny Lane Park

History and objectives of the garden
The Penny Lane Park was conceived as a project in October of 1994. Dr. Alan Riley, the JK/SK teacher at Brick Street, presented a written proposal to Mr. Robson, the Brick Street Principal. When Dr. Riley was a schoolboy in England, there was a park near his school to which he used to go and climb trees and daydream. Dr. Riley quotes a Beatles song to capture his sentiments:
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes…
There, beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit and meanwhile…
Back in Penny Lane
There are five guiding principles upon which the park was developed:

• To create an area in the playground where students, staff, and community can appreciate and study natural flora and the wildlife it encourages.
• To provide opportunities for students to integrate studies in science to the outdoors. The park will provide an on-site observatory for aspects of the environmental science curriculum.
• To develop an awareness of and respect for nature.
• To actively accept the responsibility for preservation and protection of our natural environment.
• To provide an aesthetically appealing outdoor classroom for quiet reflection, art, drama, music, language study and other community events.

Muriel Andreae, Penny Lane Park Committee Member, had the major responsibility for developing the park plan. A design competition was held with the landscape and design students at Fanshawe College to help in the final design.

Successes of the garden
The garden is in its twelfth successful year. The first year saw two trees (1 ½ “ in diameter) planted and the Board installed a water line. In 1995, 17 trees were planted, one for each class at Brick Street. The following year, an additional 9 were planted. Today we have 45 trees, with 6 minor gardens throughout the park. Two of the gardens are intended as habitats for butterflies, using flowers native to the area. The larger of the two was planted just this past spring.

There are laneways through out the park, which were put in place by the Piccoli family, parents of Brick Street students. They also donated and installed the rock circle, which serves as a meeting area for the students of the school. Benches, purchased by the committee, offer quiet places to sit and read, admire the gardens or daydream.

Challenges of the garden

• Changing committee members – continuity is problematic.
• Variable support from school staff and administration
• Fundraising is always a challenge – new and innovative ways
• Watering
• Generating interest in the maintenance of the gardens (mulching, weeding, etc)
• Protecting the garden and new trees from stray balls and feet
• Vandalism of commemorative plaques and deliberate destruction of plants and trees

How the gardens are maintained
The gardens are maintained by the committee, which is made up of Brick Street parents, teachers and students.

The gardens are put to bed in the fall and woken up in the spring by the grade five/six students of the school, as part of the curriculum. Parent volunteers, along with committee members, bring shovels and wheelbarrows and help the students clean out the gardens and spread the mulch.

During the summer months, watering schedules are set up in June and the parents take shifts to water the plants and any new trees that have been planted. During the year members of the committee weed, and fertilize the gardens. Last year several Brick St classes planted new bulbs in the gardens.

How money was raised for the garden
Appropriately enough, Penny Lane Park has been funded predominantly by penny drives. Dr. Riley began the tradition of collecting pennies in the JK and SK classes. The AM and PM classes had rivalries to see who could collect more. The first three years of the park saw over 500,000 pennies collected. There have been additional funds raised through a variety of activities:

• Button Day
• Spring / Mother’s Day Potted Plant Sale
• “Guess how many jelly beans are in the jar?”
• BBQ’s
• Poinsettia sale for the holidays
• Grants and donations
• Donations for memorial trees

Partnerships that developed from the garden
Evergreen Nurseries have been helpful with gardening advice in tree and plant selection and we hope to cultivate this relationship moving forward.

ReForest London has become a partner to Penny Lane. They have helped us with gardening information, planning and funding to further our ideas. ReForest London has developed a relationship with the school board and offers an environmental unit for Professional Development for elementary school teachers. Penny Lane Park is on the PD Day agenda.

How the garden is used in the curriculum
Over the past two years, Penny Lane Park Committee, with the help of Lyn Thompson (Brick Street School Principal) has developed teaching units to compliment the curriculum. Click here to see these execellent resources.

How the children use the garden
The children use the garden during recess and lunch hour. They can be found reading, chatting or daydreaming throughout the garden. The rock circle is a favourite gathering spot.
Those children that actively participate in the maintenance of the garden take pride in it and help to keep stray balls and running feet out of the beds.

How the community uses the garden
Our neighbours use the park to walk their dogs or grab a little shade during their daily walks. When working in the garden, weeding or watering, we often receive compliments from passers-by. They tell us how much they have enjoyed watching the garden take shape over the years and that they enjoy it.

Advice for other schools who want to green their schoolyard
The first few years of the planning and developing requires dedication and commitment from a core group of parent volunteers and strong support from the school administration.
When planning, understand the type of soil you have, what the drainage is like and what the winters are like. If you have an unprotected area, wind, drifting snow and little feet can do a fair amount of damage. Know how much room you plants and trees need to grow and space them accordingly. Your garden may look sparse to begin with, but after a few years, your planning will have paid off.

Contacts
Karen Cunningham at 672-8297
Nancy Kost

Lord Roberts Naturalized Gardens

History and objectives of the garden
The Lord Roberts Naturalization Project started twelve years ago with consultation from the community, gardening experts and interested staff and parents at the school. The garden boasts a variety of native species of shrubs, trees and vines; native wildflower beds; raised herb beds; native grasses; a butterfly garden; and a host of other plants – all purchased through grants and by donation.

Guiding Principles
The following four goals were developed at the outset of the project. Greening a piece of land is like the proverbial stone tossed into a pool, the effect moves out in concentric circles so that not only those in the immediate vicinity are affected but the community surrounding the space, the wider geographical region and even the planet.

These goals reflect the needs and concerns of the educators who put them together. They watched and listened to children and found that an outdoor classroom/green play area cuts down on aggression. The children experience nature close-up, an opportunity they miss out on in a traditional urban school yard setting.

1. Create a quiet, pacifying space for the children, providing shade.
2. Create a green space for Woodfield community.
3. Connect Carolinian native habitats across South Western Ontario.
4. Create habitat for wildlife (birds, insects), while reclaiming green space for the planet.

Successes of the Garden
Over twelve years, the gardens have developed into a play and learning space for the children and a community asset. Just this last summer, our gardens were the only school included on London’s Communities in Bloom Tour. Communities in Bloom is a national organization that judges Canadian cities for their efforts in floral displays, landscapes, turf, and urban forestry.

The judges from Communities in Bloom used words like “extraordinary,” “incredible,” “fantastic,” and “what an oasis for students.” They loved the sumac grove, the butterfly and alphabet gardens, and the new plantings along the east fence. They were impressed by the number of trees that have been planted on the grounds over the years, the peach tree with ripe peaches on it caught their attention. But mostly, they were impressed by the passion and the commitment that was shown by those present, who ranged from a grade 8 student, to some of the original supporters of the gardens, to teachers and parents, and members of the Woodfield Community Association. They also had praise for the TVDSB for being visionary enough to recognize the importance of these gardens.

• Raised Herb Beds:
  These raised beds were originally planted and cultivated by Ann McColl, Woodfield Community member. This spring these beds were planted with herbs and lettuces by a grade 3 class.
• Native Flower Garden:
  Designed and planted by a group of very committed grade 8 students in 2000, this bed contains three hemlock trees, as well as a varied selection of native flowers (columbine, violets, hyssop, artemisia, everlasting, coreopsis and wild bergamot).
• The Alphabet Bed:
  In the spring of 2004 an alphabet garden was added to the Kentucky Coffee bed. A delight to all the children, it is a work in progress. It features asters, bleeding hearts, coneflowers, daisies, everlasting, forget-me-nots, golden marguerites, hollyhocks, iris, lilies, moneyplant, nasturtiums, obedient plant, primrose, queen anne’s lace, rose campion, sunflowers, tansy, violets, yarrow.
• The Oak Bed:
  This bed centers around two red oak trees – one of which has resurrected itself after vandals nearly broke it in two. The bed includes a serviceberry, artemisia, yarrow, rudbeckia, bee balm, evening primrose, obedient plant, chamomile.
• Native Grasses Bed:
  This garden includes a variety of native grasses, planted as seeds by Mme. Godin’s class, alongside a dogwood, burning bush and a maple tree.
• The Ash Bed:
  This bed features an ash tree and a small witch hazel, as well as vinca, iris and ivy.
• English Country Garden:
  This garden at the front of the school features several varieties of lilies and iris, as well as hollyhocks. Many plantings were contributed by parents.
• Dyer’s Garden:
  Planted with students, local Woodfield resident Alexandra Harkins has designed a dyer’s garden complete with yarrow and tansy.
• Native Woodland Garden:
  Plantings include trillium and columbine, nestled in among a fallen log.
• Fairy Garden:
  Children helped to design and construct a sign to invite fairies into this garden.
• Native Sunny Meadow Garden:
  Designed by Brad Peterson this garden includes a variety of meadow flowers.
• Butterfly Garden:
  The gardens surrounding the new playground in the northeast corner feature a selection of native plants, which attract butterflies to our gardens.

Other features of the naturalization of the school yard include three additional hemlocks, three sycamore trees and an ash tree. Alongside the chain-link fence are wild phlox and golden rod.

Challenges of the garden
All proposed new projects or alterations (changes) to existing plantings or structures need to be discussed with the Principal and then forwarded for approval to Facilities Services in accordance with Board policy. Differing viewpoints and goals can make this relationship challenging to navigate at times. It is important to continue to have regular and open communications among all partners.

How the gardens are maintained
Over the past 12 years our gardens have been maintained by a team of teachers and parents. Families take turns over the summer to water and weed. We have seasonal work parties to keep our gardens looking their best, while still letting flowers go to seed to feed our birds and animals. We have continued to recruit new families as families “graduate” from our school.

Maintenance schedule

• Aug/Sept: edge/weed/tidy/trim & prune
• October: woodchip/compost/mulch
• November: leaf mulch
• April: edge/trim & prune/woodchips
• May: general maintenance
• June: orientation/weed, thin
• July/Aug: maintenance/watering by parents

Management Practices

• Front Gardens: Bi-annually: Edge beds, trim and prune trees, shrubs and vines. Mulch with woodchips and leaves/compost. Monthly: Thin plantings where necessary. Check logs and stump for stability/safety. Weekly: (in season) water, weed.
• Back Gardens: Bi-annually: Spread woodchips over high-traffic areas. Mulch and compost on beds. Prune trees and shrubs. Fence maintenance as needed (area fence, sumac grove fence). Monthly: Thin plantings where necessary. Check logs and stumps for stability/safety. Weekly: (in season) water, weed.

Partnerships & Fundraising
The Lord Roberts Naturalization Project has received funding from many prestigious naturalization programs: Evergreen, Canada Trust/TD Bank, Shell Canada, the London Community Foundation, ReForest London, a recycling award from the TVDSB, as well as parent donations.

The local community association, Woodfield Community Association has supported the project both financially, and by assisting with maintenance.

Money is raised through plant sales at the annual Gathering in the Garden, which is a school and community event that celebrates the gardens, our children, and the arrival of spring. Additional support for the Lord Roberts Naturalization Project come from the annual Lord Roberts Public School Garden Tour, sponsored by Lord Roberts Home & School Association. Past partners on this tour include the Old East Garden Club.

How the garden is used in the curriculum
The Lord Roberts gardens have been used by many different teachers to enrich all aspects of the curriculum, including: the math program (counting leaves, insects, sticks to reinforce addition, subtraction and multiplication skills), fine arts (the variety of colors and textures in the foliage and flowers inspires our artists), science (soils, digging in the compost!, studying insects).

How the children use the garden
Our kindergarten classes often eat their lunch outside while their class guinea pig chomps on clover. Teachers and their classes of all grades often take their reading outside -- sharing stories under the shade of a tree, or sitting on our tree stumps to do personal reading.

The gardens are a favorite spot during recesses and lunch hours, when children use the logs to balance, hide in the sumac grove to share secrets with friends, or play imaginary horses games by the fence. Older children bring a book to read and find a variety of places to sit. Everyone is encouraged not to pick the flowers -- the birds need the seeds for food!

How the community uses the garden
As there is no public playground in the Woodfield community, the park is used by neighbourhood families, who congregate for play, dog walking and for informal tossing of a ball. As a quiet greened space, neighbours of all ages often stop to sit among the gardens, including the large logs out front.
The community helps out with our garden work parties, and many have volunteered to run workshops for the Gathering in the Garden day -- celebrating this treasured garden in the neighbourhood.

Advice for other schools who want to green their schoolyard
It is important to have both committed teachers and committed parents on board, so that the volunteer power is present, but the advocacy power is there at the administrative level. A garden design that the Board approves and then gets behind is very important. It is also important to think long-term while planning the naturalized spaces, as things take a while to get established. A landscape designer can assist in developing a long-term plan on paper, which is an excellent document to have in hand when negotiating plantings with the Board.

Contact information
Our teacher gardener at Lord Roberts French Immersion Public School is Sue Godin -- call the school at 519.452.8330. Our parent volunteer contact is Linda Bussière at 519.434.3783.