Mulberry Outdoor Pre-school

At Mulberry Outdoor, we grow fruit and vegetables with our early years children in our amazing garden within Myatt’s Fields Park. The centre was designed for “Stay and Play”, and we support 3 sessions of drop in’s for parents and carers who can also enjoy the nature based setting that we have nurtured.

Parents and grandparents enjoy helping to water and tend the produce. We have grown beans, peas, swiss chard, celery, potatoes, peppers, raspberries, apples, radish, cherries, pears and peaches. For the past two years we have even eaten the peaches! We teach the children about the importance of healthy eating and enjoying fresh food; eating raw in the garden straight from the plant. We have seen that by growing food at this foundation stage, it inspires young children to try new healthy foods for life. We take the connection further by ensuring that all of the food consumed on our premises has the minimum impact on our environment and we teach the children the importance of looking after their environment.

We have created planters by repurposing wood from the refurbished sandpit, built by a local father. The children are active in feeding the compost and turning it to see how the waste products have decomposed. We recycle and compost almost everything and at the end of the week have just one very small bag of waste to give to the council.

Our school is an Urban Nature School and as such the garden is the life force that inspires and nurtures the way our children learn. Our garden provides the fuel for their minds, their souls and their bodies and we get so much joy from seeing the positive impact it has on all the children who come here.