Wild City 2024 Concludes with Big Reveal

Year 5 students at Morningside Primary School in Hackney, London explored their new green space for the first time in June, concluding Wild City for 2024. Students had spent the five months designing their green space, which was then brought to life by the Salters’ Institute and Edible Landscapes London.

In this year’s Wild City project, students from Morningside and five other participating schools designed green spaces while learning about the importance of biodiversity. Around 180 students were directly involved in this year’s Wild City, with a further 504 students indirectly benefitting from their schools’ participation.

Morningside’s design was chosen for their bold plan and incorporation of many sensory experiences. This included planting boxes featuring edible plants like strawberries, basil, camomile; a fountain were students could listen to running water and windchimes; and a central gazebo made of a living willow and fragrant flowering plants for rest or lessons.

A few weeks prior, the Morningside students took part in a Planting Day as their green space was under construction. During these sessions, the students learned more about the specific plants they had chosen and how to take care of them.

At the Big Reveal, the students were guided through their completed green space and encouraged to observe the plants around them. During their explorations, they even found pollinators already using the garden. The students also made pesto using basil, which is an activity they and future students can do again when the basil has established in their garden. At the conclusion of the session, the students were encouraged to continue caring for the garden during their sixth year and to share with the younger students how to take care of the garden.

When asked what they are going to do with the space, the students said ‘relax’, ‘smell the flowers’ and ‘look at insects’. Their teacher noted that the students had found their experience on Wild City very inspiring. ‘We’re really appreciative,’ said teacher Lily, ‘It’s going to change the whole school.’

The Salters’ Institute and Edible Landscapes London have already returned to Morningside to conduct a Care Day with the students and teachers, and will return for the final Care Day at the start of the new term.

We want to thank all the students and teachers who participated in the Wild City 2024. We would also like to thank Dominic Scriven and the City of London’s Creative and Cultural Learning Fund for bringing this enlightening experience to our participating students and Edible Landscapes London for their knowledge, time and expertise.

Now in its third year, Wild City is a free science-based project that brings biodiversity to life for Year 5 students in London. This five-month project sees students work with experts, the Salters’ Institute, and Edible Landscapes London to explore the importance of biodiversity and green spaces in their lives and local communities.

For questions regarding the Wild City project, please email [email protected].

Read our earlier news about Wild City 2024 here:

Wild City 2024 Launches at Salters’ Hall

Wild City 2024 Participants Announced

Wild City 2024 Students Begin Designing Their Green Spaces

Wild City 2024 Students Join Celebration Days

Photos: Eva Palazuelos