Spaces to suit all kinds of needs

The Cultivation Street competition awards the best community and school gardens in the UK.

These gardens are created to reflect changes they want to see, so design is an important part of their identity.

A fantastic example is at Redwood Park Academy in Portsmouth, where a team transformed an underused space into a full-time teaching area for five schools in the Solent Academies Trust.

Students who use it have complex learning difficulties, physical disabilities or other additional needs.

Ed Bond, horticulture teacher at Redwood Park Academy, explained: “The garden boasts a total of 22 raised beds built at various heights.

“This enables them to be workable from the wheelchairs, standers or chairs of young people of all ages.”

Sometimes there isn’t an obvious solution to a challenge, this is where Ed and his team get creative.

“Where necessary we have adapted tools or developed our own unusual solutions – using giant funnels for filling pots, drainpipes for planting potatoes. We know that there is always a suitable task for everyone in the garden.”

Packed with an abundance of seasonal fruit and veg, this garden perfectly depicts how students can take on a major role in the design, build and maintenance of any green space.

This care and consideration goes miles towards teaching them valuable life skills and positive interaction with nature and living things.

If you would like more information about the Cultivation Street competition, sponsored by Calliope®, visit cultivationstreet.com.