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School Gardening Projects

School Gardening Projects

Applications are now closed for 2024. View the list of our selected gardens for this year below.

Is your school or community group looking for help to improve your garden space? As Cultivation Street ambassadors, we are looking to support up to 10 applications in each of our two stores to help improve local school/community garden projects.

Whether you use your outdoor space to grow fruit and veg, as a wildlife corner or a quiet space to enjoy the outdoors, we’d love to hear about it.

Congratulations to this years selected community & school gardening projects!

Thanks to all who applied for our 2024 school and community garden grants. We are so pleased to hear about so many local school and community growing projects and that so many people are involved in getting outside and growing in their communities!

Congratulations to the following gardens near our Inverness store:

  • Dingwall Academy – to support the development of a sensory garden inspired by a pupil with vision impairment.
  • Ness Castle Nursery – to support their develop of a ‘plant and taste’ garden
  • Central School Nursery – to develop their plot in the Inverness High School farm grounds
  • Cauldeen Primary – to create and develop a new ‘grow your own’ gardening project
  • North Kessock Primary – to develop their Grow, Play and Learn garden
  • Balloch Primary School – to help develop their outdoor space and a start a GYO area
  • Home to Highland garden – who work with care-experienced children to build their skills through outdoor learning and growing.
  • Bishop Eden’s Primary – to help develop their Secret Garden – a sensory garden and haven for wildlife.
  • Strathpeffer Primary School – to help their Sunflower group develop areas within their school garden for pupils and the community to enjoy.
  • JAPES and SAPES community garden – to help with celebrating 20 years of their garden which encourages children from the local community to look after and grow fruit and vegetables

Congratulations to the following gardens near our Aberdeenshire store:

  • 1st Peterhead Scout group who have plans to build a raised veg bed for those with limited mobility and create a wildlife/ planting/ seating area.
  • Dales Park Nursery in Peterhead – their poly tunnel was damaged beyond repair in last year’s storms, and it was frequently used by the children to dig, plant and learn about where their food comes from, caring for plants and preparing/cooking vegetables.
  • Friends of the Den in Turriff who propagate and plant every year in their community garden. This year they would like to try a no dig flower bed by getting the whole community involved.
  • Stepping Stones nursery in Ellon who are getting everyone involved in looking after their flower beds and vegetable patches.
  • Rothienorman Primary School who are reinvigorate their planters’ and teaching children with additional support needs the therapeutic effects of gardening and to take pride in their environment and learn life skills.
  • Fraserburgh North School whose playground is purely concrete apart from a small neighbouring patch of grass provided by the council. It has been vandalised multiple times when trying to grow plants and veggies so they’re now looking to turn it into a grassy area for the kids to be able to play safely on and would require grass seeds.
  • Strichen Primary School who are lucky enough to have a secret garden but it’s not suitable for outdoor lessons which they’d like to introduce so the vouchers would go towards outdoor furniture during outdoor school projects such as “weather”.
  • Balmedie Primary School would like to increase biodiversity by planting pollinators and provide homes for wildlife, plus cultivate fruit, and veg to teach the kids life skills.
  • The Cabin Club Forest School which is a non-profit organisation in Cruden Bay would love to have a small area to plant some fruit trees and veggies. They helped their local Horticultural Group last year, brightening up the village with flowerpots with the children and take a holistic learning approach through play and exploration.
  • Tipperty Primary School are working towards their John Muir award and would like to encourage the children to connect more with nature and support their mental health. They would like to either install a poly tunnel or a miniature greenhouse and create a recipe book for the community to use alongside access to herbs and vegetables from their garden.

We can’t wait to hear how all the projects are coming along over the next few months.

Have a look at some of the past gardening projects we have supported across the Inverness & Highland areas below:

Dalneigh Community Garden

It was a true community effort at Dalneigh Community Garden to develop the garden area at the James Cameron Centre in Dalneigh. We were delighted to support the project by donating a giant bag of daffodil bulbs last year to help create a bright and welcoming burst of colour every spring.

It’s lovely to hear that children from Dalneigh Primary have been involved with the garden and voted overwhelmingly to name the space ‘The Butterfly Garden’. The garden area is open to the public as a focal point and meeting space in the Dalneigh community and beyond – if you would like to visit or volunteer your services in the garden just pop into the reception of the centre.

Inshes Wheeled Sports Facility

We were delighted to support the Inverness Wheeled Sports Club last year in creating a welcoming space at the new wheeled sports facility at Inshes park. We were delighted to donate a selection of plants, compost and wildflower seeds to help blend this great facility into its natural landscape.

Drakies Mindfulness Garden

We were delighted to support a local primary school with a cash donation to create a mindfulness garden for the pupils and staff to enjoy an inviting outdoor spaces to boost their mental health and wellbeing.

Chase Reach Project

We are absolutely delighted to have helped contribute towards the fabulous work of the Aberdeen Foyer Reach Project, Team 18 last year, who worked on the grounds at Grange Park Care Home as part of their community project.

The team have done a great job of creating a colourful and welcoming space, incorporating one of our water features, bird feeding station and a selection of bright plants for all the residents and visitors to the care home to enjoy.

Garden Centre Visits

If your school or community group would like to visit the garden centre to chat to our team and get inspiration for your garden, please also email the addresses above. Dates are limited and will be offered and filled on a first come, first served basis.

T&C’s: applications will be accepted from school/community gardens based within 25 miles of the garden centre. A maximum of £150 vouchers will be offered to each successful application. Donation may vary depending on project. Garden centre decision is final, cash alternative will not be offered. Groups that receive a donation will be expected to share photos of their gardens.