Liverpool primary school selected to receive special RHS garden

A primary school in Liverpool has been selected to receive a special garden created for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023.

The garden, which will be relocated to The Beacon Church of England Primary School in Everton, will provide an invaluable educational resource for the school once the show comes to an end.

The School Food Matters Garden, funded by Project Giving Back, highlights and celebrates the importance of children’s access to nature. For 15 years, School Food Matters has been delivering food education programmes to schoolchildren and invited its partner schools to apply for the RHS Chelsea garden. 

The other school selected to receive a relocated garden is Alec Reed Primary School in Ealing. School Food Matters said these schools were selected for the impact the garden will have on their school community, and for great ideas about how to incorporate the garden into the schools’ grounds to be accessible to all.

Emma Rowley, deputy headteacher of The Beacon Church of England Primary School, said: “At The Beacon CE Primary, we are so happy we have been selected as one of the two schools who will receive the relocated School Food Matters Garden.

“Not only will it benefit our early years children, but also our whole school community as our KS1 and KS2 children will be able to access this area from their playground every day.  It will also have huge benefits for our wider school community as many of our families walk this way during home time.    

“The amazing opportunities it will give the children will have an impact beyond their school lives into their adult lives.  It will support all of our children’s education – a real-life learning lab, right on our doorstep!  

“Children will greatly benefit from these kinds of first-hand experiences as our school is based in inner city Liverpool and many of our families do not have access to safe green spaces. The relocation of this garden will develop important habitats for wildlife in our local area, at a time when shrinking green space and climate change have taken its toll.”

Emma said that children will also be able to grow their own vegetables, which will support healthy eating and children trying new foods. The garden will also be an area to encourage bees that will pollinate the flowers, plants and vegetables. 

This in turn will attract butterflies, insects and birds to the school, which the children will be able to watch. Emma said this will have a positive impact on their education, mental health and wellbeing. 

School Food Matters won the opportunity to create a garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in collaboration with the award-winning Harry Holding Studio. Project Giving Back funds gardens for good causes to exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show with a particular focus on the impact the garden can have beyond the show.

Stephanie Slater, founder and chief executive of School Food Matters, said: “Over the past 15 years we’ve helped hundreds of schools across the UK to create beautiful gardens for their children to enjoy. 

“The School Food Matters Garden celebrates all the pleasure, and physical and mental health benefits children receive from time spent in nature. It echoes our mission to give children the knowledge and understanding they need to feed themselves and their future families, while caring for the planet. We are delighted that the children at The Beacon and Alec Reed will be able to enjoy it for years to come.”

Stephanie added: “We are very grateful to Project Giving Back and to Harry Holding for this unique opportunity to showcase our vision on an international stage, and to The River Café for supporting the relocation of the garden to our two lucky schools.”