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Schoolfield Meadow

A primary school's mown playing field, now a 1.2-hectare meadow with mown paths, a pond and an outdoor classroom.

1.2 hectares48 native speciesSown Sept 2024Mown twice a year

drag to see the change ↔

Field before: mown grass Field after: flowering meadow beforeafter

The children chose the flowers.

Every class picked one flower to "adopt" — 48 species in all. We prepared the soil in late summer, sowed in September and left wide mown paths for running, hide-and-seek and pond-dipping.

The field is now mown only twice a year. Maintenance costs dropped by two-thirds, and the children have counted 31 species of bee in their own survey.

Section through meadow, pond and paths

Next garden: Rooftop Bloom →