As a school garden coach, I like to look ahead. So I have already been investigating for some time how we can organise this at ‘my’ schools. It would break my heart if we came back after six weeks wanting to continue gardening, only to find that everything had died. So I make a plan for (and together with) the school to organise maintenance during the holidays.

Of course, there are quite a few things to take into account

  • Which weeks is the school completely closed?
  • Is a caretaker or janitor present occasionally?
  • Will any maintenance work be carried out at the school during the holiday period, and will workers be present then?
  • Is the school garden freely accessible, or is there a locked gate? (And who manages the key?)
  • Are there perhaps movable raised beds that we can temporarily move to another (easily accessible) location?
  • The chance that every child in a class is away for all six weeks of the holidays is virtually nil. So … we make a holiday rota!
  • We find out in the class who would enjoy watering the school garden. We use this to create a schedule.
  • We share the schedule with the parents involved, together with an explanation of what is expected.
  • Of course, it also states that the reward for that week (the harvest) goes to the person caring for the garden!

Tips

  • Make it fun—for example, create pairs in the class. Friends can also make something delicious together with the harvest on that holiday day!
  • Make sure the watering cans are easy to find and cannot blow away! (Attach a rope with a clip so it can be fastened and unfastened.)
  • Also ask whether a parent will come along when watering. Ask them to take a nice photo with the harvest and email or message it to the teacher!
  • It can then be shared later in the class or in the parents’ app.
  • The school garden deserves attention!
  • With a little encouragement and fun news updates about its growth and flowering, it will remain the pride of the school!

Oh yes… there is, of course, another scenario

If the school garden is not accessible or reachable for six full weeks, and there is no one who can water the school garden….

Then there is nothing left to do but harvest everything during the final lesson! You can incorporate this scenario into your growing plan by choosing only vegetables and flowers that can be harvested before the summer. (For tips on the pre-summer school garden, check the School Garden Handbook).

If there are still plants left that cannot yet be fully harvested, dig them up and put them in containers that the children can take home. Each container or plant gets its own caretaker and thus goes on holiday too!

Where there’s a will … there’s a way! There is always a solution to be found.