Exotic planters bring school together in global gardening fun

Beautiful blooms from across the world have flourished in Sheffield school's truly global gardening project.Rivelin Primary School pupils have dug deep to transform ordinary planters full of soil into a multi-cultural celebration of different countries that brightens up the school surroundings. They competed to grow the most attractive tubs of flowers - each themed on a different nation across the globe - and also learned a lot about different cultures along the way. Each class/group of people (governors, lunch time supervisors, office staff etc) took on their own planter for the scheme. The children absolutely loved the project, there was a real buzz around school. The planters were created for Spain, India, USA and Trinidad and Tobago to name just a few. The last country came about because of a little girl who had recently joined the school from Trinidad so her class said that was the country they wanted to do. With the project the children wanted to try and reflect the culture of the countries and all the different features they have. Some of the planters had a lot of information with them on flags or leaflets to tell people about the country. Others included art that was themed on the nation and made by the youngsters. The competition was run after receiving the prestigious Eco Schools Green Flag award. The Keep Britain Tidy Award recognises schools which go the extra mile to be sustainable and green, helping them to achieve eco-friendly goals and credentials. The idea behind the planter project was to:

• Encourage wildlife into the school grounds
• Encourage team work and collaboration within the group/class.
• Create unique ideas that are planned and delivered by the children/adults.

The competition was judged by a gardening representative from BBC Radio Sheffield, he helped to pick a winner out of the planters which had been created. Competition was tough but the winner was chosen as Trinidad and Tobago for their especially colourful display of plants mixed with flags, artwork and other  decorations. When parents came to collect the children they were so excited that they would drag them to the planters so they could have a look and praise them. From beginning to end the childern had worked really hard and they had absolutely loved it - it definitely improved the community feel around school.The pupils at Rivelin certainly seemed to agree they had thoroughly enjoyed getting their hands dirty and were looking forward to future gardening endeavours.