Garden for Reflection and Commemoration
Luxulyan School’s wonderful project is developing a garden for reflection and commemoration at the front of their village school.
The aim is to create a welcoming outdoor space for the local community, in which people can sit, connect and reflect, and which celebrates and commemorate all members of the school, past and present, as well as giving visitors an insight into the values of the school.
The current space contains a flowerbed with a rose planted for a member of staff who left the school and, at its centre, a bird table commemorating the life of a pupil, Fin Barnett. The ambition is to keep these special things at the heart of the new garden, but to “do better for this commemorative space”.
Building work is due to take place near the new garden area soon. When this has been completed, the area will be cleared and tidied, before being landscaped with new gravel and slate chippings, a new solar-powered water feature, a bench (supplied by PALS – Parents Association Luxulyan School) and potted sensory plants. The rose and Fin’s bird table will be reinstated and take pride of place.
The children and PALS have been involved in the design of the area, and Luxulyan School submitted a beautiful mood board with their application, to share their aspirations for the garden.
The current pupils will be involved in as much of the practical work of creating and maintaining the garden as possible.
A key feature will be a new border ‘stream’ with stepping stones, and complete with pebble ‘fish’. During one of the lockdown periods in the Covid pandemic, the children at home and in school stayed connected by reading Linda Kranz’s story ‘Only One You’ online with their Head of School. They each created a pebble fish to be placed in in the ‘stream’ in the new garden, to show how they are all unique and together make a wonderful community. To keep the garden relevant, more pebbles will be added to the stream as the years progress: when the Year 6 children (the “big fish”) “leave the Luxulyan pond each year to make their way in the sea of secondary school” for example.
The current pupils will be involved in as much of the practical work of creating and maintaining the garden as possible: planting the pots with herbs and sensory plants; placing the pebbles in the stream border; maintaining and caring for the plants; weeding the garden and keeping the bird table full of feed. And of course, using the space for quiet reflection.
We’re sure Luxulyan School’s garden is going to be a beautiful place to come together to reflect and remember, and we’re really looking forward to hearing how they get on and to seeing the results.
