Sensory School Garden For Disabled Children at the Central Remedial Clinic
Phase 1
There are two parts to this garden. Both were separate projects but they did become one space when completed.
Background - A small remote site set at the back of the school with difficult access set the scene for a difficult job.
The funds were being raised by local charities and the budget was tight. A teacher in the school 'Rose Mahon' had a dream to build a garden for the children before she retired. There was no garden area to bring the children. St. Annes park was around the corner but due to insurance issues the teachers were not permitted to do so!
Brief - To create a garden to bring the children outside where they could plant some flowers, herbs and maybe some vegetables. It had to be wheelchair accessible , have planting areas and be an interesting space. The children were aged between two and eighteen years of age.
Garden Design - I decided to create a sensory garden that would be stimulating for the children. When i measured the site and estimated the space needed for the various wheelchairs i soon realised how difficult it would be.
I created a design with planting beds at different heights to suit the various age groups.
Then to cater for the senses , sight, sound, smell and touch. I created strong visual artwork on the walls for sight. A natural stone circular water feature that they could reach out and touch. The water would also create sound giving a calming effect along with the rustling sound of bamboo. For scent we planted a variety of herbs and for touch there were plants with different textured leaves.
One unique feature was a bamboo pergola, this would lead the children down through the entrance before turning into the garden. This would help create a more interesting journey through the space. We put large granite boulders, also for touch, at the end of the pergola. The ground had to be completely level this meant we had to excavate one metre of soil to lower the garden level.
When the garden was finished and finally opened the reaction was fantastic from both the children and the staff in the school. So good that they named it 'The secret garden'. They made it their own!
Background - A small remote site set at the back of the school with difficult access set the scene for a difficult job.
The funds were being raised by local charities and the budget was tight. A teacher in the school 'Rose Mahon' had a dream to build a garden for the children before she retired. There was no garden area to bring the children. St. Annes park was around the corner but due to insurance issues the teachers were not permitted to do so!
Brief - To create a garden to bring the children outside where they could plant some flowers, herbs and maybe some vegetables. It had to be wheelchair accessible , have planting areas and be an interesting space. The children were aged between two and eighteen years of age.
Garden Design - I decided to create a sensory garden that would be stimulating for the children. When i measured the site and estimated the space needed for the various wheelchairs i soon realised how difficult it would be.
I created a design with planting beds at different heights to suit the various age groups.
Then to cater for the senses , sight, sound, smell and touch. I created strong visual artwork on the walls for sight. A natural stone circular water feature that they could reach out and touch. The water would also create sound giving a calming effect along with the rustling sound of bamboo. For scent we planted a variety of herbs and for touch there were plants with different textured leaves.
One unique feature was a bamboo pergola, this would lead the children down through the entrance before turning into the garden. This would help create a more interesting journey through the space. We put large granite boulders, also for touch, at the end of the pergola. The ground had to be completely level this meant we had to excavate one metre of soil to lower the garden level.
When the garden was finished and finally opened the reaction was fantastic from both the children and the staff in the school. So good that they named it 'The secret garden'. They made it their own!
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Phase 2
Background - The Rotary club contacted me and asked would i be interested in creating another garden at the CRC. The staff were very happy with the first garden but found they could only manage five children per visit in the garden, due to the small size. The area next to the 'Secret Garden' would be twice the size and connect the spaces together. The Rotary Club got to work and put a huge effort into raising the funds for the garden over the next year. Neven MaGuire
supported the project and did a cooking demonstration in the Clinic to help raise funds.
Brief - A place for the children to go outside and interact with nature. To be wheelchair accessible. To create a chill out area for the older kids so they can have some 'time out'!
Garden Design - Keeping with the school theme i decided that a school kitchen garden would be a good idea. By building multiple raised planting beds in a zig zag formation would allow more space to fit the wheelchairs around the planters. A teachers station with a black board would be created. From this station a teacher could see into the 'Secret Garden' and the new 'School garden'. To cater for the older kids i decided to break the garden into two parts. First the school garden then the other rest area. To do so we built two large concrete cube dividers to give the garden its own identity. These acted as frames and framed views from different angles. Both were different colours and finished on one side with "Cristal Finish', a glass particle render which would reflect the sunlight as it shone.
This garden was to have unique artistic images and a very strong colour theme. The garden had to be visually stimulating from the point of view of a wheelchair user.
Special thanks to Grainne Bagnall who was relentless in brining everyone together and pushing this project to it's finishing point. A genuine person with great intentions!
supported the project and did a cooking demonstration in the Clinic to help raise funds.
Brief - A place for the children to go outside and interact with nature. To be wheelchair accessible. To create a chill out area for the older kids so they can have some 'time out'!
Garden Design - Keeping with the school theme i decided that a school kitchen garden would be a good idea. By building multiple raised planting beds in a zig zag formation would allow more space to fit the wheelchairs around the planters. A teachers station with a black board would be created. From this station a teacher could see into the 'Secret Garden' and the new 'School garden'. To cater for the older kids i decided to break the garden into two parts. First the school garden then the other rest area. To do so we built two large concrete cube dividers to give the garden its own identity. These acted as frames and framed views from different angles. Both were different colours and finished on one side with "Cristal Finish', a glass particle render which would reflect the sunlight as it shone.
This garden was to have unique artistic images and a very strong colour theme. The garden had to be visually stimulating from the point of view of a wheelchair user.
Special thanks to Grainne Bagnall who was relentless in brining everyone together and pushing this project to it's finishing point. A genuine person with great intentions!
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