There were weeds everywhere. The science garden at my children’s school had fallen into disrepair and was completely unusable. I’m a school governor, and at one of our meetings the headteacher mentioned that she’d love to renovate the garden, so I started thinking about how we might go about it.
One weekend, I mentioned the garden to a friend while helping with his allotment. He told me he is a freemason and suggested they may be able to help. He put me in touch with Neil Moakes, another member of West Kent Freemasons, who is a horticulturalist.
I explained to Neil that we wanted to teach the children about where their food comes from and how flowers grow. He became really enthusiastic about the idea. The freemasons has a charitable fund, the Masonic Charitable Foundation (mcf.org.uk), and each lodge can donate a certain amount to a local cause they feel is deserving. Individual lodges also raise funds to support projects in their areas. Neil approached several different lodges as well as the main fund on our behalf and managed to obtain £5,300 for our project. The funding covered all the tools and materials we needed, including some 21 tons of soil and wood chips.
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I subsequently joined the freemasons myself, and 15 of us came together from lodges around Kent to help build the science garden. We collaborated with the PTA, teachers and people from the local allotments.
First we focused on clearing away the weeds and preparing the area. Then a carpenter came in to build the planting beds, and we carried the soil up the hill to the garden and began planting. When we finished, it was a real ‘wow’ moment. All the kids were very excited, asking questions about what they could grow. The school assigned each key stage group a planting bed, allowing them to decide what they wanted to plant and to plan it out.
Pupils have now grown parsnips, carrots, potatoes, herbs and flowers. They have a bug hotel and a pond with tadpoles, so they’re learning about local wildlife too. We provided logs for the kids to sit on, and we have recruited guest speakers, who give talks on topics such as the role of bees in pollination.
A few months later, the Mayor of Bexley came to officially open the new science garden, which was a wonderful event. I would encourage other schools to reach out to their local lodge if they have a project in mind. A lot of freemasons are older and might not have children at school any more, but most lodges are willing to help–not just with funding, but also by providing the volunteers to make things happen.
Adam Theobald, governor, Lessness Heath Primary School, Bexley, London (610 pupils)
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