Oban High School

This kayak's days on the water were done...

...instead it will be full of water. First we took out the seat

We gave it a watery paint base

Then decorated it with water wildlife

Pond plants like their feet wet

Marsh marigolds help to clean the water

We used an old pond as a plant nursery

Ahoy there team

🌿What was your favourite part of creating your garden?

We enjoyed getting creative by researching all our ideas and then pulling them together into our design. We enjoyed visiting garden centres and speaking to the owners about where we could source the plants that we wanted. We had a lot of fun painting the kayak and making it look like a pond of water. Finally we had the best time putting the garden together, getting a bit wet in the process as we tried to syphon off rain water from the water butt. It was a good way to cool down on a hot day.

🌿Did you face any challenges and how did you respond to them?

One challenge was that we chose plants that were not native or grew easily in our local climate. We also had difficulties in sourcing all the plants we wanted. We had to do more research and change some of our chosen plants. We also ended up having to order some plants online, which then died during transportation.

🌿What did you learn whilst creating your garden?

We learned about how ponds can help animals by making stepping stones across the country as a transport highway. How plants can help to filter and oxygenate water. We learned about how to take care of pond plants, it is especially important to use rain water and not tap water.

🌿What will happen to your garden after the competition has finished?

We are going to keep taking care of the garden in the school grounds and hope to add to it over time.