Revolutionising Education.
The roots of Flourish.
‘Problems experienced in adulthood often have their roots in childhood experiences, so Flourish set out to reinstate the relationship between nature and learning that has largely been lost. Our intention was to introduce gardens into schools locally with the intention that these high-quality gardens would be integrated as an aid into the curriculum. Through our initial experience working with a local secondary school, we learnt that we had the opportunity to create a far more ambitious response to the challenge than originally envisioned. It became clear that the gardens needed a full-time teacher gardener to work with teachers, to practically apply in the garden theoretical learning taught in the classroom.
From Farm to Flourish.
We began to host children on the farm teaching them to how to garden and to use the food we grow. We finish the morning sessions by eating the lunch we cook. What we do is simple, yet the difference this makes to the children exceed by far our hopes and the benefits radiate beyond their own sphere to benefit their classmates and their families.
Our original objective, based on providing gardens in local schools, was seen to be too limited. Learning for Sustainability originated in Scotland and has been adopted by other countries. It is now present in a host of wider education improvement work streams across Scottish education such as STEM - Science, technology, engineering, mathematics and training strategy. Flourish can help accelerate the implantation of this policy by demonstrating that incorporating gardens into the fabric of education is affordable and effective.’
JJ Gladwin, Founder
The first Flourish Garden | North Kessock Primary School, Black Isle
‘The change in Dan is remarkable.’
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When we lost our four year old daughter Catrina to Leukemia it was hard on our whole family, but it hurt Daniel especially. He was very close to his sister. She had Down's Syndrome and Daniel used to look after her and try to keep her safe. You think when these things happen that a range of services swing into action to help but the reality is far from this.
We tried our best to support him but it's hard sometimes and it impacted Dan's interactions with his friends . His teachers suggested he might benefit from taking some time out during school to spend a day a week at the farm.
During this time the simple act of working in the gardens, interacting with the animals and having a home cooked meal once a week has had such a huge impact.
Two years on and the change in Dan is remarkable. His time at the farm has given him some space to process things. It's made him a more confident and resilient young man. It's also helped him rebuild the relationships with his peers.
Furthermore it's given him an interest in where his food comes from, something he has brought back into the school as an 'Eco-Leader' and now as a House Captain. He's also taken over a corner of our Garden!
I only hope that the work of the team at Flourish can continue and more young people can benefit from what it has to offer. It certainly helped my son.
Jim Grieg
Partnering with St Andrews University
A new evidence-based approach
With evidence
we can lobby
for change.
Having developed our approach and delivered results over the last six years in a farm setting, it is now time to apply and test this in schools. To this end, we have worked with the Highland Council to identify a suitable site and then to gain the trust and engagement of the school staff who will be our close partners as we develop and perfect the approach.
We have partnered with St Andrews University School of Psychology and Neuroscience to track and measure the impact of the Flourish garden and its integration into school life and the wider curriculum.
Over the next three years we will build a body of evidence to highlight the impact of our approach on the mental health of pupils, their academic attainment, as well as the impact on the teachers and on the local community. We will demonstrate that this approach is not only powerful but also, cost effective in the long term.
‘If we can see changes in vulnerabilities in children, this pays huge dividends.’
Barbara Dritschell | School of Psychology and Neuroscience
St Andrews University
Integrating school gardens into school life.
School gardens are not a new concept, but our approach is.
RIGOROUS TESTING
We’ve partnered with St. Andrews University to rigorously test our approach over three years. This will give us the data and evidence to call for the change needed in educational policy.
PREMIUM QUALITY
We create school gardens that are high quality in terms of beauty, biodiversity, productivity. Our gardens are a living classroom in which children can learn and thrive.
CURRICULUM INTEGRATION
Each school garden comes with a full-time teacher. We aim to use each garden to add real world context to all subjects. This is about full integration rather than an addition to existing teaching.
‘I have a feeling
of happiness.’
“I like meeting new people and
learning from them.
I have learned that I should never give up and keep trying, even when I am trying to manage a heavy wheelbarrow.
I have a feeling of happiness.
I like being outdoors.
Primary 6 pupil
We are ready.
North Kessock Primary School, on the Black Isle have entered into a partnership with us to pilot and test our model.
Laura Dorantt is our first teacher and brings a wealth of teaching experience and a deep understanding of therapeutic horticulture.
We have designed a beautiful, high quality garden that perfectly suits our site and our model.
Our partnership with St Andrew’s University allows us to collect and analyse the data to measure the impact of Flourish.
We are now planning how to integrate the garden into school life in order to achieve maximum value and impact.
We are looking for generous and forward thinking donors who share our vision and want to help us achieve our goals.
‘I feel really excited and privileged to be part of this pilot scheme for Flourish.’
Miriam Mackay
Head Teacher, North Kessock Primary School
Demonstrating the savings.
We know that what we are proposing is challenging and, on the face of it, expensive. But if we can gather the evidence, we can make a powerful case for policy change. Critically, we must be able to demonstrate the savings our approach can bring as well as the full scope of the benefits, such as improved academic attainment and reduced mental health problems.
Change powered by indisputable evidence.
Our argument for policy change can only be effective if it is evidence-based. This is why our partnership with St Andrews University is so critical. Their researchers will carry out baseline assessments and then track progress using suitable metrics over the full three years of our scoping study.
Transforming education for the future.
Through this unique approach Flourish can provide the UK government with the mechanism needed to establish the natural world in education policy*. With the necessary funding, we can embed nature in Education for the long term.
(*As called for in the Dasgupta review February 2021)
FAQ
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Yes, creating a high quality garden and funding a full-time teacher is expensive. However, the growing problem of poor mental health in school age children is creating an increasing and measurable financial burden for schools in terms of extra staff required. Beyond this, there are more intangible issues of pupil behaviour, motivation and attainment. Through our scoping study, we aim to provide an evidence-based case for the cost-effectiveness of the Flourish approach.
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With intelligent design, we believe there is potential to create suitable gardens for the majority of UK schools. And for those schools that have insufficient space for a garden, we plan to show the effectiveness of shared garden schemes.
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Both. And in the case of secondary schools, we believe the use of the garden should extend to Year 11.
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The essential difference with the Flourish approach is that the garden comes with a teacher, because a suitably qualified individual can drive the whole process of continuing to engage pupils and staff in the garden. Moreover, we are pushing for the garden to be integrated into school life, adding real world context to subject teaching across the curriculum.
Help us advocate for a change in policy.
A Flourish garden is more than a bolt-on benefit. It is an integral part of school life that comes with a dedicated teacher. The aim is to bring life and context to the curriculum - from Maths and Science to Design and Technology.
Please help catalyse a shift in educational policy so that the next generation can approach the challenges ahead with grounded wisdom.
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