How to create an educational garden in a nursery?

December 18, 2023

Last modified on December 12, 2024

Children today spend a lot of indoor time, far more than their parents and grandparents at the same age. The reason: an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, limited (or even nonexistent) access to a private garden… Yet, spending time outdoors every day is beneficial for health, physical and mental well-being, and cognitive development, especially in children. More and more early childhood centers are trying out educational gardens. Ready to assemble your team of budding mini-gardeners? Let's go!

Educational garden: are you familiar with it?

What is an educational garden?

An educational garden is an outdoor space where children and supervising adults can practice the principles of gardening: sowing, planting, watering… all while learning about meaning and values (working as a team, learning patience, developing observation skills). The educational garden can be adapted to the space available to each organization, ranging from a few pots for growing herbs to large raised beds or even a larger area planted directly in the ground.

For a bit of background, the concept of the educational garden isn't so recent, as the benefits of nature in children's education were already being extolled during the Age of Enlightenment (17th century). Much later, Maria Montessori fervently championed the idea that children should spend time outdoors. In her book, She writes:

When a child goes outside, it is truly the world itself that unfolds before them. […] No description, no image in any book can replace the real sight of trees in a forest with all the life that unfolds around them.
From Child to Adolescent – Maria Montessori

What are the benefits of an educational garden for children?

First of all, the educational garden in the nursery is a good way to encourage children to take an interest in what is happening outside.

Furthermore, it's also an opportunity to:

Raising awareness from a young age about respecting the environment by observing nature and taking care of it;
Creating intergenerational links around a common activity (children – supervisors – parents);
Educating about a healthy and balanced diet: a study highlighted that children who have been used to gardening from a very young age eat 15% more fruits and vegetables than others once they are adults;
To understand the life cycle from seed to plate and the entire surrounding ecosystem (importance of biodiversity for example);
Participating in a positive self-construction What a pleasure it is for a child to observe all the stages of germination, and especially the satisfaction of having participated by watering, raking… Self-esteem and a caring spirit are nurtured, giving the child a solid foundation for developing in a group setting. If a child learns to respect a vegetable garden, they will be just as respectful in their human relationships.;
Awaken your 5 senses: listen to the birds singing, smell the fragrance of flowers, touch the earth, observe a snail, etc.;
Unleash your creativity through a land art activity, for example.

A 2-year-old child creating land art on the grass (Wesco blog)

How to create an educational garden?

To germinate the idea

Gather as a team to present the concept of the educational garden and its benefits for children. Discuss it with families as well, and then assess the commitment of the various stakeholders to such a project. You can also contact organizations that have already implemented this type of project to gather their advice on implementation, difficulties encountered, and long-term results. If everything is going well, you can integrate the educational garden into the organization's overall educational plan. It is important to document the objectives behind the implementation of this educational garden. Here is a non-exhaustive list of objectives you can define:

How to teach children the basics of gardening?
Observing the stages from seed to flower?
Creating intergenerational links with families or an external stakeholder?
Adding greenery to the nursery school playground?
etc.

Define the type of educational garden

Depending on the layout of your daycare center, you may already have a suitable garden space, or you may need to invest in raised beds. As a team, what goals have you set: growing a few flowers or creating a full-fledged vegetable garden? Similarly, what is the team's level of involvement and availability on a daily basis for maintaining this space? These various factors will allow you to define the educational garden that best suits your needs.

Establish a budget

Creating and setting up an educational garden requires some initial investment (we've included a list of essentials at the end of this article). In addition to this initial budget, a small operating budget will be needed throughout the year (purchases of seeds and seedlings, potting soil, etc.).

Choosing the right plants

Choose varieties that grow relatively easily and quickly (herbs are a great example). Children will see the results of their planting very soon. Also consider fragrant and brightly colored flowers that will spark children's curiosity.

Let's go, all that's left is to garden!

Start by preparing the soil and invite the children to remove weeds, perhaps by raking. If needed, you can add compost or manure to enrich the soil. With the children's help, sow or plant according to the specific calendar for each season. Forget about a perfectly straight garden; embrace a little flexibility. It's important to let children garden freely, but ALWAYS under your supervision.

Water gently, watch patiently

Several times a week (or even daily during the summer), invite the children to water the garden and observe its progress (a plant might seem unhealthy or need staking). This encourages children to develop their observation skills and find ways to care for plants with kindness. This observation phase is also an opportunity to introduce children to water conservation from a young age (remember to collect rainwater for watering). You can also do a mulching activity by asking the children to cover the soil with straw or wood chips to prevent rapid evaporation and ensure a cooler environment.

Harvest time has arrived.

Are the flowers, vegetables, or fruits ready to be harvested? Invite the children to help with this step; what a satisfaction it will be for them to see the tangible results of their gardening! They'll undoubtedly never look at vegetables on their plates the same way again! For legal and health reasons, you may not be able to consume your produce at the daycare. In that case, you can offer it to families or a local charity (many partnerships are possible).

And then what?

One gardening cycle ends, but another is just waiting to begin… And then, it is very likely that the youngest children in the nursery, now in the middle group, will want to leave their observer status to become real little budding gardeners!

Essential Wesco products for your educational garden

Large Vegetable Garden Elements

Large wooden vegetable garden for children blog wesco

A large, solid wood raised garden bed that allows children from 18 months old to garden together. This garden bed has a good depth of soil for growing plants and vegetables and a geotextile liner to facilitate natural drainage.

See the wooden vegetable garden

SMALL ECO-FRIENDLY VEGETABLE GARDEN ON WHEELS Total height 52 cm

Small mobile children's vegetable garden in green plastic with 4 wheels - blog wesco

Made from bio-based plastic, this small vegetable garden takes up little space and can be moved wherever you want thanks to its 4 wheels. Equipped with a water drainage system.

see the small vegetable garden

WHEELBARROW WITH 1 WHEEL

blue plastic children's wheelbarrow blog wesco

Highly durable and easy to maneuver, this wheelbarrow will be a perfect companion for all budding young gardeners. As an added bonus, it's a great way to develop gross motor skills and balance.

See the wheelbarrow

MAXI ECO-FRIENDLY SAND PLAY KIT 16 pieces

Children's sand toy set with buckets, shovels, rakes, sieve (Wesco blog)

A 16-piece set suitable for use in nurseries. Each accessory has an ergonomic design adapted to the youngest children and their still-developing movements: a textured handle for a better grip, a large platform for digging, a bucket with 2 handles for easy transport…

see the kit

0.75 L Watering Can

small watering can for children in green plastic blog wesco

No gardening activity is complete without a watering session! This watering can is suitable for even the youngest children: large opening for easy filling, non-slip handle.

see the watering can

WOODEN MAGNIFYING GLASS

With this wooden magnifying glass, young gardeners will be able to observe insects and life underground.

SEE THE MAGNIFYING GLASS

I GARDEN MYSELF

An easel book with step-by-step instructions for each season: tips, tricks, necessary materials… The little extra: the pages of the book are laminated and washable.

see the gardening book

MAXI LOT OF VARIOUS SEEDS

lot of heirloom seeds for the garden blog wesco

This very complete kit offers 52 packets of seeds (unusual vegetables, heirloom tomatoes, etc.) as well as explanations for growing them properly.

See the maxi seed lot

Small size poncho

ZABIPLOUF WATERPROOF PONCHO 18 months to 4 years blog wesco

It slips on very easily and quickly, guaranteeing great freedom of movement so as not to hinder the child in all their explorations.

See the poncho

AIRPORT BOOTS

Recyclable and proudly French-made 100% plastic boots! Sizes 20 to 27 to fit all the children in the nursery.

See the boots

In short

The educational garden does not adhere to fixed and strict criteria. Its flexible design allows each early childhood center to adapt it to its own needs and in a gradual manner: from a few containers placed on a windowsill to a vegetable patch, or even the integration of a small adjoining chicken coop. Families are likely to appreciate this. educational garden project, So don't hesitate to ask them to participate. Who knows, perhaps a parent or grandparent will be willing to share their knowledge? This will add a social and intergenerational dimension to this already meaningful educational project. Now it's your turn: share your experiences with the educational garden with us… We look forward to reading them!

Two children collecting fallen leaves in autumn (Wesco blog)