North Kessock primary trailblazes to way for ‘dedicated learning gardens’ in schools
A NORTH Kessock primary is trailblazing the way for Highland schools to incorporate a “dedicated learning garden” alongside a fully-funded gardening teacher.
The Black Isle school is leading an ambitious project cultivated by Flourish — a charity that aims to create “therapeutic gardens in schools, make horticulture a part of daily life in schools and shift educational policy and practise”.
North Kessock Primary school was chosen as the first school in the world to benefit from the charity, with the establishment of a learning garden in its school grounds, which was completed in autumn 2024. As a part of the project, North Kessock Primary has also seen the introduction of gardening teacher Laura Dorantt, who began her five-year post at the school last August.
Chairperson of North Kessock Primary School parent council and trustee of Go Flourish, Annalee Robertson, said: “North Kessock was chosen as the first school in the world to benefit from the charity with the establishment of a dedicated learning garden in its school grounds, alongside a fully funded gardening teacher, to ensure effective integration with the school curriculum.
“Our nursery to P7 classes have been using the garden space since then as part of their timetabled school learning through the week.”
To examine the impact of the outdoor learning-based project, Flourish partnered with the University of St Andrews to do a five-year scoping study — in hopes of collecting enough data to present evidence that proves outdoor learning is an “integral part of the school environment”.
Annalee continued: “The kids at North Kessock absolutely love the garden and learning outdoors. By immersing children through hands-on learning, they are building resilience, developing new skills and fostering a core appreciation for the environment that will have life-long benefits. I am a terrible gardener, but my kids are learning the skills to plant and grow their own vegetables and have asked me if we can dig up some of our garden at home!”
The next step for the project is to establish another garden — and Flourish has their sights set on an Inverness primary school and at a secondary school.
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