One of the five priorities under the Greening Chiddingly 2035 Vision is "...for children from Chiddingly and surrounding areas to have access to natural areas for learning, and for the village school to develop as a hub for environmental education that extends into the wider community". A key step towards meeting this goal has been the creation of a new Biodiversity Garden in the school grounds. The work has been supported by the Lund Trust, the Parents and Friends of Chiddingly School and various private donors. Images will be updated as the garden becomes established.

Creating a new Biodiversity Garden

Chiddingly School has long had a school garden, used for recreation and as part of the science curriculum. This was located in a fenced area next to the tennis courts. The garden comprised 50% lawn and 50% astroturf with a few trees (including willow and apple) and an area of raised beds. The garden was underused and was inaccessible when the astroturf pathway was boggy. The whole area looked undesirable and unloved.

The vision for the project was to transform the school garden into a biodiversity haven. The new garden would be planted with a variety of native grasses, trees and flowering shrubs to encourage a wealth of insects, birds and animals and enrich the learning environment. The design for the Biodiversity Garden by Christina Hardy also included improvements to access pathways, so that children could use the garden area year-round and have some lessons taught outdoors.

Chiddingly Primary School has just over 100 pupils. A significant proportion of children travel in from towns beyond Chiddingly Parish and sadly not all of them have access to green space. Around 25% of pupils have additional special educational needs. It was hoped that the garden design and planting would give all children access to a safe, high quality and inspiring outdoor space to further support their learning.

The project started in early 2025. Local volunteers helped prepare the space by taking up the astroturf. The groundwork and landscaping was completed by Wills Landscape Specialists during April 2025. A month later, the beds around the turfed lawn area in the north of the garden were sown with a mix of native Wealden wildflower and Rainbow Bloom seeds (donated by Sow Wild). These images show the 'work in progress'.

Access to the old school garden via a boggy astroturf pathway (image © Parents & Friends of Chiddingly School)

Access pathway after the removal of the old astroturf (image © Parents & Friends of Chiddingly School)

Laying the new access path to the biodiversity garden (image © Parents & Friends of Chiddingly School)

The beginning of groundwork, including digging out the old path (image © Parents & Friends of Chiddingly School)

Preparing an area of the school garden for turfing and re-seeding (image © Parents & Friends of Chiddingly School)

The old school garden has now been transformed into a completely new space. The new pathway looks fantastic and the access route into the garden is actually useable. The wildflower areas around the northern edge of the garden are in full bloom and attracting bees and butterflies. The outdoor learning space is complete. More planting is needed but the journey towards a more biodiverse and tranquil green learning space is well underway. The school has set up a gardening club so that much of the management and upkeep of the garden will be done by children.

Mrs Kayleigh Vile (Head of Chiddingly School) said: "The transformation of the school garden has been remarkable. The garden isn’t just a beautiful addition to our grounds—it will become a vital part of our school curriculum and community. It’s a space where curiosity will be nurtured and nature explored, helping children connect with the environment in meaningful, lasting ways. Over time, we believe it will encourage healthier habits, instil a sense of responsibility, and foster collaboration across year groups. As the seasons change, so will the garden—and with it, the learning and memories it will inspire. This is not just a one-time project; it’s a legacy that will grow alongside our pupils year after year."

View of the new Biodiversity Garden, looking towards the raised beds (image © Parents & Friends of Chiddingly School)

View into the new Biodiversity Garden (image © Parents & Friends of Chiddingly School)

Mixed wildflowers around the lawn area in the north of the garden (image © Parents & Friends of Chiddingly School)

Cornflowers bringing colour to the lawn area in the north of the garden (image © Parents & Friends of Chiddingly School)

Mixed wildflowers around the lawn area in the north of the garden (image © Parents & Friends of Chiddingly School)

View towards the outdoor learning space (image © Lizzie Gurr)

View from the outdoor learning space towards the school (image © Lizzie Gurr)

As with any project, there is still a lot of work to do. This includes:

• Tree and shrub planting. A mix of native trees and shrubs (including various fruit trees) will be planted during autumn-winter 2025. A variety of trees, including apple and silver birch, were kindly donated by Helen Denning.
  
• Installation of activity areas. Parents and community members are providing items including compost bins, materials for bug hotels, log seating areas and willow tunnels to make the garden space as interactive as possible.

The Biodiversity Garden could not have been completed without the support of the Lund Trust, hard work by local volunteers and encouragement from Greening Chiddingly. We hope that in time, once the garden is established, it will become a species-rich and biodiverse habitat, providing an outdoor learning environment for all Chiddingly School pupils. The Biodiversity Garden forms a small but integral part of the habitat enhancement that is currently happening acrosss Chiddingly Parish.