Grow & Learn in Nature (GLiN)

Grow and Learn in Nature (GLiN) – Saughton Park

It all started when The Caley secured Scottish National Heritage funding to help develop the Grow and Learn in Nature award. This consists of 7 core horticultural activities, personal goals as well as Park and community topics.

At its core GLiN is designed to connect young people and teachers to nature and community at Saughton Park through horticulture and nature.  Since April, we have been working with 5 local schools, Balgreen, Stenhouse, St Crispin’s, St Cuthbert’s and St Joseph’s to develop the Grow and Learn in Nature Award.  We will be working with the same 48 pupils and 12 teachers until December 2020 which is amazing, because together we are not only getting to know each other and the park, but also seeing it change from season to season.  We are also delivering monthly Continuous Professional Development (CPD) sessions for Teachers and Support Assistants so they can make the best use of their local green spaces and being outdoors.

It’s already evident that we all love being in the park and being part of the greater park community. Alan McMahon (Head Gardener) gives us jobs to do around the park. We have planned what we’d like to grow in The Caley Demonstration Garden and Teaching Bed and we are getting to know other Park users, e.g. the Knit and Natter group on a Tuesday and the Scottish Society of Botanical Artists on a Wednesday.

Recently we were planting up strawberry runners and Michael from St Joseph’s Primary School told his Mum during a visit to Ikea that they had ‘to go home because he hadn’t watered his strawberry plant and he was worried about it’.   As excuses to get out of Ikea go – it’s not a bad one……………

Shona Nelson, GLiN Facilitator