My interest in developing school grounds began before I even began my teacher training. Back in 1990, I was volunteering as a ranger in the Pentland Hills, just outside Edinburgh. One of the rangers was married to a depute head teacher of Wardie Primary School in Edinburgh. He talked with great enthusiasm about how he was helping the school establish a tree nursery and improve their grounds.

A couple of years later High School Yards, an Edinburgh nursery developed the Wee Green School pack outlining their approach to developing their nursery outdoor space through a gardening project. The booklet is still available (see link above) and just as relevant today. It became particularly well-known for its one-metre cornfield which was harvested and used to bake bread. If you have a small garden or outdoor space that you want to develop, then the pack is a great starting point

So when I began my first teaching post, at Grantown Primary School in the Scottish Highlands, I was keen to get going with similar ideas. I consulted local rangers and naturalists. I applied for a school grounds grant and managed to seek additional funding through a competition. With £650, my pockets were jingling and my anticipation levels were high.

It was a learning curve. The janitor, Bob, was incredibly helpful and worked with the local secondary school to get the children making window boxes. We planted a hedge of native trees – each pupil planted a tree. We looked at making a Highland garden with the advice of a local NatureScot officer.

However, the children were not consulted and neither was anyone else. So when mistakes were made, such as using plastic bottles to protect some of the trees that then blew away, the feel good factor wasn’t high. There was no maintenance plan to look after anything. Nothing was integrated into the curriculum or class projects. Thankfully Bob was a kind man who loved gardening and kept things going. Every year the window boxes were full of beautiful flowers.

Two years after I left the school, a new head teacher, Mhairi Robertson was appointed. By coincidence, she had been the deputy head teacher at Wardie Primary School several years earlier and knew the benefits of developing school grounds. With her enthusiasm and drive, the grounds continued to be developed, and in 2007 a Highland Garden was finally opened!