Pupils from Renrewshire have shown their fantastic imagination and creativity by winning the eighth annual Pocket Garden Design Competition, inspired by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful.
Following the great success of the competition and popular online showcase and vote in recent years secondary, primary and nursery pupils were once again invited to design a colourful and sustainable garden reflecting the interlinked themes of A Garden of Celebration, One Planet Picnic and Wildlife Gardening..
Newmains Primary and Ralston Primary are among the schools selected.
The 2023 Pocket Garden Design Competition, run in partnership with Garden for Life Forum, attracted almost 200 entrants from budding garden designers from schools across 28 local authority areas in Scotland.
The 42 designs selected this year represent the very best entries and the winners from across 21 local authority areas in Scotland, have now been invited to build and grow their garden at school before filming or photographing it to be displayed as part of an online interactive showcase garden which will be made available to the public to visit in June.
Eve Keepax, Education and Learning Officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said, “Pocket Garden is uplifting! This year’s new theme of ‘A Garden of Celebration’ has opened the door to an outpouring of ideas of what children want to celebrate and what they value. It is a reminder in difficult times that we still have many reasons to celebrate. It’s even better when the way that the Pocket Gardens are created will be helpful for local wildlife and provide a bite to eat for people too!
“Well done to everyone that entered the competition, and we hope that all schools decide to bring their designs to life. I’m already looking forward to seeing the transformations from design to real garden.”
The Pocket Garden Design Competition aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and forms part of Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Climate Action Schools framework. It gives pupils and educators a creative focus for learning for sustainability, STEM skills, and the Curriculum for Excellence.
Further information from past years can be found at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/pocketgarden and the online showcase will be open from 7 – 19 June 2023 for people to visit and place their vote for the nation’s favourite Pocket Garden.