An excellent day had by all
Educational visits to Ryton Gardens
School groups come to Ryton Gardens for many different reasons- a school gardening club on a fact finding mission to take ideas and inspiration back to school or even as a finale to a 'fantastic foods' topic.
One Warwickshire school came to us in order to encourage an interest in healthy diets and healthy lifestyles. The pupils took part in planning, costing and preparing their food to bring on their visit to Garden Organic. They made an organic lunch including various salads, homemade popcorn and muffins and sandwiches. It was great to see the children enjoying their picnic in our beautiful gardens. Afterwards they even added their paper lunch bags to our compost heap!
There are so many learning opportunities that arise from an educational visit to Garden Organic. One sixth form student remarked “It really opened my eyes to how important and relevant gardening is to us.”
If you are thinking about visiting Ryton Gardens with your school group, you should find all of the necessary information regarding an educational visit on this page. We look forward to making your visit a positive educational experience.
Ryton Gardens and The Vegetable Kingdom
The gardens demonstrate a wide range of organic gardening methods. Students will see a thriving site where vegetables, flowers, shrubs and trees live in harmony with wildlife.
The play kitchen in
the Vegetable Kingdom
The whole site is attractive, informative and inspirational. A visit to the gardens will provide an opportunity to experience and engage with the outdoors and explore nature.
Combining a tour of the gardens with a visit to the Vegetable Kingdom (our interactive educational display) provides young people with an understanding of how food is produced, where different vegetables originate from and the vast range of vegetables that are available. In addition, the message that vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet is reinforced.
The site is suitable for visits by pupils of all ages; we can make your visit relevant to the work of your individual school and the educational needs of your pupils.
We also welcome visits from voluntary organisations such as Brownies, Boys Brigade etc.
Guided Tours
You may choose to visit the gardens on a purely "do-it-yourself" basis
or include a guided tour with an experienced guide. The price of a tour is
included in the entrance to the gardens.
We want the tour to fit the needs of your group. Please discuss the curriculum
areas, topics or QCA modules that you are covering with a member of the education
team and we will endeavour to match the tour to your requirements. The length
of the tour can be adjusted to suit.
Maps, trails & activity boxes.
Interactive instruments in
the Children's Garden
The composting area
The Keder greenhouse
The Cook's Garden
Throughout the year we have trails around the garden for children to follow.
There is a fold out tour map that provides details about each garden. If this is too big for your children to manipulate we can arrange an A4 copy for your group to practice map-reading skills in the gardens.
We will have a selection of activity boxes available for use during your time in the gardens; please contact us for more information.
Prices
Entry to the garden is £3.50 per child. All accompanying adults are free. The teacher or adult in charge of the group has free entry to the gardens in order to carry out planning and risk assessment prior to the visit.
Lunch arrangements
Part of the ethos of being organic is to recycle and reuse as much as possible. As part of the whole educational experience of visiting Ryton we would ask you to discuss this with the children before visiting, giving them opportunities to explore what would be considered an environmentally friendly lunch box (as well as being healthier for them!). We will ensure rubbish is recycled or composted.
There are lots of suitable places for you to sit on the lawns picnicking and enjoying the gardens. A member of staff or guide will be happy to point these out to you.
If you require an indoor space for lunchtime or the weather is inclement then we will make arrangements for you.
If you wish to purchase food or drinks for large numbers from the restaurant or coffee shop please let us know in advance and we can give you more details. Special diets can be catered for when notified in advance.
Risk assessment
Each school or establishment should carry out a risk assessment for a visit to the site. Example and guidance risk assessment forms are available on request from the Education team. Download here
Clothing
We would suggest visitors bring warm clothing, as this is an open
site. Even in the summer we may get a cool breeze. Similarly it can be very
hot; hats,
glasses and sun cream are also recommended. You may want to bring water
bottles.
Out in the gardens you will need shoes appropriate for walking on grass
and along the Woodland walk.
Toilets
The toilet block on site is at the entrance to the gardens. It is advisable
to stop here before you go on a tour round the garden.
All the sewage and wastewater on site is collected in underground tanks
and filtered through a reed bed sewage system.
Garden centre and shop
School trips are often an oppurtunity for children to experience handling money in a real life situation. Webbs Garden Centres run the shop at Ryton Gardens. Webb's aim to carry a selection of suitable items in the shop. All of the gardening and food products are orgainc, fairly traded or ethically sourced
First Aid & Medication
We assume that school/LEA/statutory policy will
be followed concerning medication requirements of individual children.
Groups must accept responsibility for the First Aid requirements of their pupils
or staff that may arise. There is First Aid cover on site in case of emergency
but it is the school’s responsibility to ensure they have adequate and
appropriate cover for their group.
Responsibility
Whilst we will take every care to provide a safe environment schools will need to provide adult support as appropriate and a member of school staff will be with each group and accept responsibility for the well being and behaviour of the pupils.
Guides and Garden Organic members of staff are not responsible for pupils/students while they are in the garden. They do not contribute to the required adult to child ratio. Garden Organic staff and volunteer guides will not accompany groups or individual children alone.
Access
Many areas of the gardens and The Vegetable Kingdom are accessible by wheelchair. We have wheelchairs available on site. There are easy access toilets. Please discuss any individual needs with the education team when making your booking.
Educational visit booking procedure
- Please contact our education department on 024 7630 8209 to check that your preferred date is available. Please try to leave at least 6 weeks before your visit when booking.
- Complete the booking form over the phone with a member of staff, this will ensure the visit best suits your group’s needs.
- You need to confirm the booking with us within 7 days by phone or email bookings
- We will send a confirmation letter, further details about the day and a payment form.
- The lead teacher(s) are advised, at no cost, to visit the gardens beforehand in order to familiarise themselves with the site and conduct their own risk assessment.
- We hope that you will not need to change or cancel your booking, but if this is necessary then please give us as much notice as possible. (024 7630 8209)
On arrival
On the day of your visit the lead teacher or another adult should
take a completed payment form to the shop. This will be sent with confirmation
letter. Entry
will not be permitted if a member of school staff has not signed the payment
form.
Payment can be made with cash, credit card or a cheque made payable to
Garden Organic or an invoice can be sent after visit.
If you have booked a guided tour then the volunteer guide will meet you in
the shop.
If you need a space to store packed lunches or other equipment then please
ask.
After your visit
We want to ensure we provide the best possible service. To help us with this please return our feedback form.
What else does Garden Organic offer schools?
Garden Organic for Schools project
This is a nationwide campaign that helps children grow vegetables at school and learn more about their food. By providing advice on setting up gardens in or near schools, children can learn how food is produced and the links this has with the countryside. It also helps teach them how to enjoy eating a wide range of vegetables as part of a healthy diet.
- Membership to the project is free - visit www.gardenorganic.org.uk/schools and enrol or contact us on 024 7630 8238
Resources
We have a list of materials that schools may find useful in supporting their visit to the gardens. These include posters, information leaflets, booklets, a literacy trail and website. Please ask for further information.
Top of pageGarden Organic is the working name of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA).
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