A Lesson in the Great Outdoors – Garden Design Encourages Education in Wellington, New Zealand
Local Garden designer Jamie Reid is helping young children around Wellington get back to nature with innovative garden designs and landscaping at local kindergartens.
Wellington, New Zealand, June 29, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Garden designer Jamie Reid is helping young children around Wellington get back to nature with his innovative garden designs and landscaping at local kindergartens.
Jamie has worked with several kindergartens and playcentres to create an outdoor space where children can play and learn by growing flowers, vegetables and herbs. “My aim is to create a happy, peaceful environment where children can have fun and learn at the same time,” explained Jamie. “Children start learning about their senses in the garden. In my designs they not only see the colours, textures and shapes, but can touch and smell plants, like rosemary, thyme, garlic and lavender.”
New Zealand has a rapidly expanding urban population, with more and more people settling in the main centres. With the need to be near the city or town for work, the rural idyll is rapidly becoming an unattainable dream for many New Zealanders. Children are now growing up in houses with little or no outside area and the trend towards ‘low or no maintenance’ gardens, with few plants and trees, means children have less opportunities to enjoy a natural landscape.
Beverley Richards, from Hutt City Kindergartens has worked with Jamie on several projects. “Many children assume food just comes from the supermarket,” commented Beverley. “So it’s great for them to see how food grows.”
The project at Glendale Kindergarten, which transformed the outside area into a fun space, has been a real hit. Jamie has used a variety of materials, colours and textures to create different paths around the garden that lead you to different areas. There are several raised vegetable patches too. “The kids love planting and looking after something which they can eat,” commented Keri Coleman, Head Teacher at Glendale.
“It’s really important for an early childhood centre to have a beautiful garden to play in. Lots of children just don’t get the experiences of playing amongst plants and insects at home,” Keri added.
At Maungaraki Kindergarten the sandpit was converted to an ‘outdoor museum’, with a pre-historic wall of fossilised insects, leaves and bones, enabling children to learn about history through play.
The plants in the garden also encourage wildlife. Birds, butterflies and insects are all attracted to the plants, giving children a fun introduction to biology. “Having outdoor spaces that engage children in learning about their environment is a very important part of our Kindergarten programme,” commented Beverley Richards of Hutt City Kindergartens.
In order to really work, these gardens must be well thought out and designed, so that play and learning are one and the same. “The garden must be a space that teachers and the children want to be,” said Jamie “It must draw people outside, keep them there and inspire them to learn.”
Jamie brings a unique eye to garden design. As a former artist he understands colour, form and texture and how they combine. “Jamie has an intuitive knack of adding interest and challenge into garden designs,” explained Beverley. The gardens have been such a success that plans have been made to develop five other Hutt City kindergartens.
###
Jamie Reid Landscape and Garden Design has been developing stunning outside spaces for 14 years. In and around Wellington Jamie has re-invented all kinds of areas, from steep town gardens and windy Kapiti coast gardens to Wairarapa lifestyle blocks.
Jamie Reid Landscape & Garden Design Ltd
32 Aplin Terrace
Ngaio
Wellington 6035
Ph/Fx: 04 973 1690
Mob: 021 184 8618
www.jamie-reid.co.nz
Email gardens@jamie-reid.co.nz
Jamie has worked with several kindergartens and playcentres to create an outdoor space where children can play and learn by growing flowers, vegetables and herbs. “My aim is to create a happy, peaceful environment where children can have fun and learn at the same time,” explained Jamie. “Children start learning about their senses in the garden. In my designs they not only see the colours, textures and shapes, but can touch and smell plants, like rosemary, thyme, garlic and lavender.”
New Zealand has a rapidly expanding urban population, with more and more people settling in the main centres. With the need to be near the city or town for work, the rural idyll is rapidly becoming an unattainable dream for many New Zealanders. Children are now growing up in houses with little or no outside area and the trend towards ‘low or no maintenance’ gardens, with few plants and trees, means children have less opportunities to enjoy a natural landscape.
Beverley Richards, from Hutt City Kindergartens has worked with Jamie on several projects. “Many children assume food just comes from the supermarket,” commented Beverley. “So it’s great for them to see how food grows.”
The project at Glendale Kindergarten, which transformed the outside area into a fun space, has been a real hit. Jamie has used a variety of materials, colours and textures to create different paths around the garden that lead you to different areas. There are several raised vegetable patches too. “The kids love planting and looking after something which they can eat,” commented Keri Coleman, Head Teacher at Glendale.
“It’s really important for an early childhood centre to have a beautiful garden to play in. Lots of children just don’t get the experiences of playing amongst plants and insects at home,” Keri added.
At Maungaraki Kindergarten the sandpit was converted to an ‘outdoor museum’, with a pre-historic wall of fossilised insects, leaves and bones, enabling children to learn about history through play.
The plants in the garden also encourage wildlife. Birds, butterflies and insects are all attracted to the plants, giving children a fun introduction to biology. “Having outdoor spaces that engage children in learning about their environment is a very important part of our Kindergarten programme,” commented Beverley Richards of Hutt City Kindergartens.
In order to really work, these gardens must be well thought out and designed, so that play and learning are one and the same. “The garden must be a space that teachers and the children want to be,” said Jamie “It must draw people outside, keep them there and inspire them to learn.”
Jamie brings a unique eye to garden design. As a former artist he understands colour, form and texture and how they combine. “Jamie has an intuitive knack of adding interest and challenge into garden designs,” explained Beverley. The gardens have been such a success that plans have been made to develop five other Hutt City kindergartens.
###
Jamie Reid Landscape and Garden Design has been developing stunning outside spaces for 14 years. In and around Wellington Jamie has re-invented all kinds of areas, from steep town gardens and windy Kapiti coast gardens to Wairarapa lifestyle blocks.
Jamie Reid Landscape & Garden Design Ltd
32 Aplin Terrace
Ngaio
Wellington 6035
Ph/Fx: 04 973 1690
Mob: 021 184 8618
www.jamie-reid.co.nz
Email gardens@jamie-reid.co.nz
Contact
Jamie Reid Garden Designs & Designer
Jamie Reid
+64 4 973 1690
www.jamie-reid.co.nz
Jamie Reid
+64 4 973 1690
www.jamie-reid.co.nz
Contact
Categories