Park View Primary School

In choosing our design we thought of the role rivers have played in the development of towns and cities over the years. Different industries have used these for transport, delivery and export purposes and many areas have thrived and grown as a result. The River Clyde is half a mile from our school and our town's Light Burn runs into it. This now small Burn would have played a role in our local area in previous years. 

Planting

Making the wheels

Setting out the tracks

Therefore, our design, incorporating elements of all the themes, is honouring the heritage of our community. We are connecting the past with the present,  looking out of the classroom window 100 years ago and mixing it with what we see now.  Historically, coal mining was the major industry in the Cambuslang area and Park View Primary was built on the periphery of the site of Gilbertfield Colliery and Brick Works. The coal and bricks would have been transported on rails to the Clyde, loaded onto boats and delivered onward to coastal towns and villages and maybe exported abroad. Remnants of bricks have been found in our school grounds. 

The base for our garden is modelled on a trolley that would have been used to transport coal out of the mine, it will be made from an upcycled delivery palette. The design of the bug hotel is based on pit head machinery which housed the winding gears for the lifts and our tower wormery is based on the giant chimneys.  

Many of the plants used in our design have come from the school garden, these originated from donations when the school's garden club began. 

Using seeds collected from previous years (nasturtiums, marigolds) taking cuttings (from herbs), preparing runners(from strawberries) and splitting larger perennial plants(rhubarb, chives, mint and yellow poppies) have ensured that our planting choices are sustainable and seasonal. We will also scatter around wild flower seeds. These will all provide a picnic for humans and insects alike.  The plants will be transplanted into recycled pots.  Some of the soil used is from our own compost which has remained largely unused over the last 12 months, and the wormery will contribute a little more. Leaves collected in the autumn will be used around the base of the bug hotel and our 'forest' to provide shelter for insects and hedgehogs. 

Our burn will be made from reusing a plastic water bottle and be blue from the forget me nots which grow wild every year.