Wrapping Up the 2025 School Year: Our School Workshop Recap
As we come to the end of another academic year, we are pleased to announce the completion of 59 school workshops so far in 2025.
We delivered classroom workshops where children learned more about the benefits of green spaces in urban areas like London, the impact of habitat loss and the necessity of conserving trees and plants in areas with high concentrations of greenhouse gases. They also conducted practical experiments with solar panels to understand how renewable energy like solar works and extended their understanding of the problems of burning fossil fuels.
Teacher Feedback
When asked about the positives of the workshops, teachers reflected that there was:
“Strong leadership and delivery. High standard of expectation and learning. Good use of interactive tasks for pupils to engage and time given for questioning and exploring learning goals. Misconceptions were addressed at the time they arose which helped to further pupils' understanding.”
Another said that:
“We haven't had something like this in school before.”
Expanding Access to Horticulture Education
This year Energy Garden has worked with more London schools in boroughs with high deprivation, enabling us to reach children who normally do not have access to growing their own food. We have significantly increased the number of horticulture workshops delivered with over 1500 children participating so far over 2025.
Hands-On Gardening Experiences
Our horticulture workshops provided practical experiences of gardening to children who learned how to weed, lay compost, plant a variety of seeds and water in their own schools’ outdoor space. Children deepened their understanding of the importance of growing their own food, requirements for life and food miles. They left the workshops with their own planted seeds to take home and care for, something that many had never experienced before.
What Teachers Noticed
When asked about which area of the workshop was most beneficial to children, half of teachers responded
“Planting something to take home.”
Another said that a positive of the session was
“The different activities that children were practical in”
and
“Children had a better understanding of the different stages of a plant and how to grow their own fruit and vegetables.”
What Children Felt
When asked about the horticulture workshops, one child said:
“I felt calm, peaceful out in the garden. It was very enjoyable and there was something for everyone to do. I felt like I was at home in my own garden. Everyone had a job to do and they were all important.”
Looking Ahead
As a team it is gratifying for us to know that we are able to support schools in widening the curriculum and providing children with new experiences in learning. We look forward to going to more schools to deliver our sustainability workshops in the new academic year.
If you know a London school near to one of our Energy Gardens that might be interested in our workshops, please contact leila@energygarden.org.uk