Web Design and Author Richard Kirton
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SENSORY GARDEN PROJECT 2011
Hillary Ann Wilson, Community Governor and Richard Kirton of Wakering & District Natural History Society jointly submitted a bid for Lottery Funding in 2010. In January 2011 they were granted an award of £9,998 for the construction of a Sensory Garden at Great Wakering Primary School.
The landscape gardener commenced work on the garden in the spring. With input from the school children at each stage of the development consideration was given to each season and the plans included a story-telling chair and corner to encourage and influence them to be really creative.
The main objective of the Sensory Garden was to enable all school children to experience each of the senses within the garden, concentrating especially on those children with disabilities. Picture shows the pupils celebrating with Community Governor Hillary Ann Wilson and School Bursar Julie Hindley
On 21st July 2011, Gill Threadgold and Richard Kirton met up with Debbie Ankin, Learning
Support Assistant for the school to discuss the plants required for the Sensory Garden
Project. Debbie’s responsibility was managing the budget for this exciting project
and she was most concerned that the right plant went in the right place.
Plans for the garden were quite ambitious and went beyond raised beds, lavender,
wind chimes or water features. The vision was that the garden would enrich each school
children’s experience through the full range of senses: Sight, Sound Touch Smell
and Taste.
The garden infrastructure was completed and ready for planting by the autumn. The layout included a grassed area with Totem pole and Teepees, 3 raised borders filled with an assortment of sensory plants and other earlier mentioned features but also to include a christmas tree if the budget allowed.
The Sensory Garden area extends to and includes the Siver Birch tree in the top left
hand corner of the picture. Included in the plans was a circular bench surrounding
this tree and the plants were chosen to encourage birds, butterflies and other insects.
A wide access path through the garden was to be either multi coloured or crazy paving
and the existing sand pit was to be retained.
Debbie wanted the Sensory Garden to become a special haven in the centre of the school, full of different sights, sounds and smells.
It was planned that the school children would help out with the ongoing maintenance and development of the area including the inclusion of new plants.
Adequate seating was to be provided for those who just wanted to sit and watch the world go by amid the scented flowers, whilst listening to the wind chimes.
Barry Hale and Richard Kirton called at the school on 20th October 2011 to see how the Sensory Garden was progressing and were greeted by Debbie Ankin, Learning Support Assistant and Julie Hendley the School Bursar. They were pleasantly surprised to see how the garden had changed since a previous visit on 21st July 2011.
Debbie still has some ambitious plans for this coming Christmas with lights and other festive ornaments.
She also has her eyes on transforming the wildlife area which was constructed back when our own children were students at the school. It is situated in the north-east corner of the school and in its day would have looked quite grand. There is a small pond with logs around mature hedges and some trees. Much of it is overgrown at present.
