Hello everybody, my name is Sarah and I am a Teacher here at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, where the outdoors is my classroom and nature provides all my resources.
A typical day for me gives me the opportunity to showcase the National Botanic Garden of Wales to a variety of school groups who travel from far and wide to see our National Garden. Throughout the day the class will join me on a led lesson, have lunch in our Great Glasshouse and to then have some free time to discover the other areas of the Garden or perhaps to complete the Gruffalo trail!
Our lessons cover everything from plant adaptations, pond dipping, the life cycle of a flowering plant, the secret world that exists in our woodland, and how to grow your own fruit and vegetables.
It is so refreshing to now hear of so many schools that are trying their hardest to establish and maintain their own green spaces – no matter how small. I think it is vital that as many learners as possible have the opportunity to spend time outdoors learning about all the wonderful life that exists there and how we can grow our own food and live in a more sustainable way. I get to help schools on this journey by giving them plenty of hints and tips (and even some seeds) to take back to their space in school. This includes conversations around composting, companion planting, crop rotation and garden design.
As we know by now the benefits of spending time in the great outdoors are endless. It can especially help learners with their wellbeing and reduce anxiety and depression. I also use it as a tool to help learners regulate their emotions should they need help to do so. I have found through firsthand experience that it can help learners regulate their anger and frustration by heading out to the garden and completing one of the outstanding tasks such as earthing potatoes, weeding the veg beds or creating a sensory bag filled with herbs such as lavender. It can also provide learners with a comfortable space to be able to hold conversations that they may find hard to partake in.
As a nature lover myself I love taking young learners in to the great outdoors – whatever the weather. As the old saying goes no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing! I love nothing more than seeing a group of Derbyn aged children head to toe in their waterproofs and wellies splashing their way through the puddles as we make our way up to the Great Glasshouse.
Teaching here at the National Botanic Garden ties perfectly in to the Curriculum for Wales as we thrive on providing the learners with ‘real life’ experiences to aid their learning journey. Our lessons also help build on the four purposes of the learners, and we have constructed every lesson with the new curriculum in mind. For example our lessons encourage and provide opportunities for the learners to critically think about the challenges we now face in our community such as severe weather and how we can look at plants for inspiration on how they have adapted.
In my lessons I very much believe in ‘learner led learning’ for example if we are making our way to the allotment but stumble on some frogspawn that the learners find intriguing we stop and take advantage of the opportunity to learn about the lifecycle of a frog. We pride ourselves on making sure every learner feels included and we work very hard to ensure all ALN (Additional Learning Needs)learners always feel included and considered. We tailor every lesson to the learners in front of us to make sure all needs are met. Here at the Garden everyone is welcome and everyone is equal.
I feel very lucky to work as a teacher here in the National Botanic Garden of Wales as I get to share wonderful nature encounters with young minds which are full of wonder and curiosity. Nothing beats sharing a smile or memory with a young child and knowing that, that encounter could shape their future and drive them forward to take good care of the world that surrounds us all. After all our great outdoors and the wildlife that call it home depend on the next generation taking good care of it and in my opinion children can only care and protect something they have a deep emotional connection for.
This year we are taking part in Wales Outdoor Learning Week (28th April – 4th May) along with our other partners on the Wales Council for Outdoor Learning. We will post downloadable resources for teachers to use in school or you can book a visit! Please email education@gardenofwales.org.uk for more information.
Sarah Jones
Teacher
