Flower Bed Storytime
Kew Gardens #GrowWild
In 2019 we took wildflowers to the town
This is what we did:
Trained volunteers in seed sowing and pricking out
Held volunteer-led seed sowing days in schools for children and families and on the allotment
Held volunteer-led flower growing sessions for the local community in the High St and on the community allotment
Created a wildflower display in the High St in June to link to flowering time in Harmony Woods and on nature reserves around the town
Invitations to visit the FlowerBedRoom were made by primary school children with the help of a professional artist
A social media campaign was devised by secondary students
Constructed an interactive display in the form of a Flower Bedroom – a ‘bed’ of flowers, overflow(er)ing chest of drawers, flower carpet and a bedtime storyteller
A professional storyteller told traditional stories in the Flower Bedroom – games and activities accompanied the story telling
Stories were written by primary school students and included in a Flower Bedroom Storybox, which visitors were invited to read whilst enjoying the flowery installation
Visitors were invited to add plants to the installation and to pot up flowers to be planted later in the year in Harmony Woods
The installation remained in the High St for 3 months from early June through till the end of August
The installation was transferred to Harmony Woods and celebrated with a community day at the end of September where the 3000 plants raised by the community were planted in the Harmony Woods meadow, with participants enjoying tea, flower cakes and, of course, storytelling.
Supported two secondary school students to run their own Grow Wild youth project - bringing wildflowers to the town via Virtual Reality!
We did this:
To:
Raise awareness of wild flowers and their importance to an urban population
Engage positively and creatively with young people, especially teenagers
Improve the biodiversity of the town and its surroundings
Increase the number of people of all ages actively engaged in caring for the local environment
Support local artists
Bring together and support the work of existing groups and organisations
Click the image above to watch the video created by Kew’s Grow Wild Team to celebrate the project
