Family-run Shropshire landscaping firm, Butler Landscapes, is helping bring a new sensory garden to life at St George’s Junior School in Shrewsbury with pupils playing a key role in shaping its design.

Working in partnership with the school, Butler Landscapes is volunteering its expertise to transform an underused outdoor space into an inclusive sensory garden that will support outdoor learning, wellbeing and environmental education for years to come.

The 12m x 50m area will include areas for growing vegetables, encouraging recycling and sustainability, and providing opportunities for outdoor learning.

Working alongside the school’s Eco Council, made up of pupils from Years 3 to 6, the team delivered a series of three interactive workshops designed to introduce the children to the principles of landscape design while encouraging them to share their own ideas for the space.

The project has also been carefully designed to honour the memory of a former pupil with a dedicated marine-themed area inspired by her love of ocean life.

Sharon Butler, director at Butler Landscapes says:

“When we first visited the school, we felt it was really important that the children were involved because it’s their space. It was fantastic to see their enthusiasm and creativity. We wanted to teach them some of the skills we use every day, like reading scaled plans and thinking about designing spaces for everyone, while giving them the opportunity to shape the garden themselves. Their ideas have genuinely influenced the final design.”