L’ecolieu. A 2.0 school garden in Gland (Vaud)

In 2023, with the help of Permabondance, Graine de Carotte is starting one of our biggest projects!
A 500m2« garden-forest science room » capable of accommodating two classes simultaneously!

A garden to replace the science room

« What if we taught outside? »
That’s where the idea for the ecolieu came from. A place that’s both calm and teeming with life, to be as close as possible to studying living things. It was with this idea in mind that Christophe, a primary school teacher, came to meet us.
Eventually, this forest garden will be able to accommodate 2 classes simultaneously in 2 separate areas.

A shared vegetable garden: Doing more with less

In a world of diminishing resources, we believe it makes sense to pool infrastructures. This forest garden, located between the Collège des Tuilières and the Gland – Grand Champ secondary school, will be accessible to both schools.

A construction site that follows the rhythm of the seasons

This major project, led by Timothée Jeannotat of La voie de la Nature, will take 2 years to complete, taking the time to plant the trees, make the various arrangements, train the teachers… (and other unforeseen events…)

Tailor-made garden design

In order to best meet the needs, the gardens were designed according to the wishes and requirements of the teachers. These specifications included:

• A forest sofa (able to accommodate a class)
  
• A vegetable garden
  
• Anaromatic zone
  
• A zone of perennials
  
• A wilderness area
  
• A wetland
  
• Composting
  
• Fruit trees (to produce fruit and create shade for outdoor classes in the coming heatwaves) Berry hedges

Below is the basic plan:

Garden objectives:

• As an educational tool for studying nature
• Creating a bidiversity hot-spot
• Creating a climate
• Creating a new workspace for schools
• Create a sense of belonging (the student as project actor)
  
• Producing food
  
• Having a composting area
  
• Store carbon (in the soil in the form of humus)
• Discovering living things (to better protect them)
• Understanding the notion of ecosystem