Nurture children’s self-belief with this wellbeing activity by Place2Be’s Art Room and the Royal Horticultural Society’s Campaign for School Gardening.

About the project

This creative gardening activity guides children through the process of growing their own pea shoots. By stepping into the shoes of a gardener, children can nurture a belief in their ability to care for and positively impact the world around them.

Download The Creative Gardener: Nurturing Self Belief project (3.7MB)

Place2Be's Art Room and the Royal Horticultural Society

Place2Be’s Art Room has teamed up with the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Campaign for School Gardening to make this activity.

The RHS Campaign for School Gardening inspires and supports teachers, parents and carers in providing young people with gardening opportunities to:

• empower them to grow
• connect them to nature
• boost their wellbeing.

You can find more gardening wellbeing resources on the RHS Campaign for School Gardening website.

Wellbeing activity overview

Below, we've summarised the wellbeing activity included in the project pack. The activity aims to help children notice the positive impact they can have on their environment and connect with nature by exploring the sensory experience of growing plants from seeds.

Stage 1: Sowing your seeds

In the first stage of this wellbeing activity, children decorate their growing containers with something important to them before sewing their peas in compost or cotton wool.

Whilst they sow their seeds, they're encouraged to think about how the seeds look and feel and use their imagination to visualise their seeds growing into plants.

Stage 2: Caring for your plants

During the second stage of The Creative Gardener, children decorate a makeshift watering can and use it to water their plants. Once green shoots appear, they will move their decorated containers into the sun to help them grow.

Children are encouraged to reflect on how caring for their plants makes them feel and notice what changes they can see as they grow throughout the second stage of this gardening activity.

Stage 3: Harvesting your pea shoots

Once their plants are 10–15cm tall, children will harvest their pea shoots, wash them and make a tasty snack with them.

During the last stage of the gardening activity, children are encouraged to explore their senses by noticing how their pea shoots smell, feel, taste and look.

Download The Creative Gardener Project (3.7MB)

At Place2Be, we believe art is a creative tool to develop resilience and connect with others. Our Art Room team are specialists in using art to support and enhance children and young people’s wellbeing. 

Inspired? Why not try one of our other Art Room projects on themes including calm, noticing feelings, and exploring changes?