THE team behind a project to create a sensory garden at Downend School has been busy planting for the spring.
Over two weeks in December staff and students planted bulbs and created a new wildflower area to provide a nectar-rich area for insects.
Pupils planted 400 plug plants, scattered seed, and learned about pollination and the wider ecosystem, working with South Gloucestershire Council’s Common Connections project.
The school has been developing the sensory garden, to support the well-being and education of pupils, including those with additional needs, since June.
The project secured a £5,000 grant from the Sheila Coates Foundation, an independent charity that funds projects that enhance the education and mental health of young people with autism, to help create a “calming, accessible space”.
Since the summer, grass has been cut, trees pruned and, during the October half term, a group of staff gave up their time to remove ivy and level the ground.
The school’s gardening club has been heavily involved with the project, with pupils filling planters with flowers, weeding and working on ideas for the sensory garden.
A further £2,000 grant from the council will support the gardening club in planting vegetables next year.
Education support lead Lynette Jackson said: “We are excited to see this space come to life next spring.
“We are also proud to have achieved the Level 1 RHS School Gardening Award, with an application for Level 2 now underway.
“Looking ahead, we will be working with the school’s design and technology department and Downend in Bloom to create bug hotels, wind chimes, and bird boxes.
“As part of the garden design, we also plan to construct two benches with planters attached at each end and lay a self-binding gravel path to form a calm and accessible space for all pupils.
“We now need the help of the local community. We would be incredibly grateful for any support residents can offer—whether that includes practical woodworking skills, tools, advice, materials, or hands-on help during school holidays or occasional after-school sessions.”
Anyone who would like to get involved can call the school on 01454 862300 or email dow-admin@cset.co.uk.
*Year 7 students at Downend have taken part in a disability awareness workshop with Bristol Disability Equality Forum.
The workshop included conversations with adults who have disabilities, design challenges, looking at decision making and disability activism, as well as “accessibility audits” where they discovered parts of the school where there are barriers to access.
School director of curriculum and teaching Linda Ferris said: “The workshop was designed not only to raise awareness but to inspire action.”