Eco Schools for Early Years conference, Maidstone, Kent, 23rd March, 2011. Opening address: Gayle Souter-Brown, Greenstone Design UK
CLIMATE WEEK 21-27 March 2011
Sustainable landscape consultants Greenstone Design UK support Climate Week. 2011 is the first time this event has been run. In this international year of bio-diversity this international event will shine a spotlight on the issues, inspiring many more people to act. It will help create a culture of empowerment rather than passivity, responsibility rather than blame and ambition rather than tokenism.
Please encourage your workplace, community or school to run events or activities for Climate Week.
CLIMATE WEEK 21-27 March 2011
IDEAS FOR CLIMATE WEEK:
Use an existing activity that is straightforward to arrange. If your school runs a regular weekly talk or discussion, put climate change on the agenda for Climate Week and maybe invite a speaker. If your organisation has a programme of staff training sessions, suggest that sustainability and saving energy might be a good area of skills development to focus on during Climate Week.
Home school partnerships are a good example. Hold a whole school assembly to set the scene. Invite parents in for planting days in year groups. Ask someone in to talk about why we need to grow our own food, organically, locally; how it helps slow climate change to use less fossil fuels, to not use pesticides and herbicides on the garden as they’re made from petrochemicals, and damage bio-diversity, which is Nature trying to work with us to create balance, including natural pest control. Parents could learn alongside their children how (easy it is) to grow food from seed, could watch for germination together, could agree to help their child nurture the seed into a healthy plant, planted in school with parents’ help, at home. Once grown it could be brought back to school to plant in school gardens to be used in DT cooking classes or used at home.
The similarities between plants and animals/people/mammals could be mentioned. Climate change is happening. We need to reconnect people with the planet to understand how our actions affect our earth. Eco schools are all about using resources wisely. We need to embed knowledge and respect for our environment into everything we do. We all need good food, sunlight and fresh air to be healthy.
We need to consume less. Informed choices for less packaging and production costs can be started in Climate Week and continued throughout the year. Using less energy means fewer car trips, combining trips, turning off appliances except when absolutely necessary, trying raw foods and one day a week. Water will become more precious than oil in most of our lifetimes, in the UK. Climate change will not just affect poor people in developing nations. It is already flooding Wales, Australia, Brazil, England. It is already causing wildfires in Spain, Australia, USA, Italy. It is already causing drought in England, Thailand, Kenya, Australia.
Environmental music is a way to bring communities together. Climate change means that weather extremes are felt. Puddles after sudden downpours need to be explored. Heavy rain sounds and feels different from light misty drizzle. At times the wood around us will have more or less water content and will therefore sound different when tapped. Sitting quietly outside listening to the sounds around us will inspire different people to respond in different ways. There are no wrong answers. Write about your feelings, your response to being outside. Play the rhythm, draw them, map them, count them, graph them. Bring in a local musician. Watch the film August Rush. Be inspired by the world around us.
Think global. Act local. Now
ITN have asked to include us in a documentary about best practice suppliers of natural play and learning outdoors
February 2011
October 2010
Greenstone Design UK have been chosen to design the sensory garden and masterplan the grounds of Europe's first disabled children's hotel, in Portugal.
Working with London-based architects Haverstock Associates we are proud to support Centre Algarve with the landscape design of the site. Situated just 5 minutes from Faro the resort will feature a fully accessible, inclusive environment for disabled children and their families, with petting zoo, sports area, pool, play area and of course Greenstone's signature sensory gardens. Disabled children and adults will be able to enjoy comfortable rooms and relaxing outdoor areas designed to calm and recharge children and their carers.
September 2010
Manchester City Council approves Greenstone Design UK as the BSF school grounds designers and transformational education consultants for Manchester's schools.
take the Greenstone challenge...
Find the best value solution to your problems: Tick all the boxes and make a real difference. Combat anti-social behaviour, raise aspirations, improve children's mental health and academic outcomes, include the community, prepare for climate change, all with cost-effective landscape design of school grounds. Spend a little, gain a lot, even in tiny spaces. Contact us to find out more.
May 2010
Sustainable landscape architecture + design just got better.
In partnership with Natural Solutions we now offer a full service landscape consultancy for architects, schools, local authorities, residential, care home gardens, children's respite care home gardens, commercial and amenity spaces. Natural adventure play and sensory gardens remain a specialty. With zero carbon machinery we offer sustainable schools grounds renovation and redevelopment and provide a learning opportunity where students can measure, design their sports field and control robotic equipment!
April 2010
Greenstone Design UK are active within the community, organising tree planting events, speaking at environmental seminars, to local authorities and school groups, supporting social and therapeutic horticulture for at-risk young adults. Health care rehab sensory gardens are designed to suit the special needs of users and their carers. We offer adult education courses in sustainable landscape and interior design, teacher CPD workshops across all key stages and curriculum areas and training to industry.
We gain more when we give more.
"Learning outside the classroom produces better academic outcomes for children as well as supporting personal development"
March 2010
Oct 2008 Frensham Heights School, Surrey - outdoor drama, playground and driveway redevelopment for Middle School
Nov 2008 National Spinal Injuries Centre, Buckinghamshire - rehab garden for occupational therapy unit
Jan 2009 Chilworth C of E Infants School, Surrey - Yr 1 & 2 outdoor learning playground
Jan 2009 Farnham Local Food Initiative - sustainable, wildlife-friendly community allotment site with communal BBQ and children's play area. 2 acre community gardens at Runfold, Surrey, designed to attract volunteer labour, beneficial wild life and prospering soft fruit and vegetables! (on behalf of Transition Town Farnham)
June 2009 Mary Rose School, Hampshire - special needs school edible sensory garden and memorial garden
Feb. 2010 An Islamic-Mediteranean garden for private clients in Buckinghamshire
March 2010 Museum of Farnham, historic gardens from Roman Britain to the present day
August 2010 North Islington Nursery School - natural play area including sandpit, wildlife gardens, stream, natural shade, sensory garden, outdoor theatre. RoSPA described the design as "A well designed and thought out site with good play and educational value. Among the best we've seen. Good use of planting and sensory items (especially pleased to see edible planting)
"While few commodities are truly recession-proof, the nature of the landscape services industry lends itself well to the label: Residentially, it is an upscale, moneyed, discretionary pursuit. Commercially, it is a nonnegotiable value expenditure. In both markets, investment in responsible landscaping is viewed as environmental stewardship. Win-Win-Win."
"Increased awareness in both the public and private sectors of environmental issues are a major driver of landscape installations, making landscaping a source of aesthetic, ecological, and financial improvements."
|
