Aranda Primary School: Adventure Garden and Nature Path
Aranda Primary School: Adventure Garden and Nature Path

Aranda Primary School: Adventure Garden and Nature Path

EDUCATION

Aranda Adventure Garden and Nature Path

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ADVENTURE GARDEN

Transformation of the harsh barren unused ‘heart’ of the school into a natural oasis by implementing Waterharvesting, rock terracing and designation of play and planting areas.

NATURE PATH

Happy with their first Naturescaped Adventure Garden, Aranda Primary moved on to complete this second stage natural dry creek bed and planting beds focusing on Indigenous bush tucker.

Aranda Adventure Garden Before and After
Aranda Nature Path Before and After
Specifications

Client:

Aranda Primary School

Location:

Aranda ACT, Australia

Year:

Garden: 2016

Nature path: 2017

Team:

Paul Totterdell (Waterharvesting)

RECOGNITION

Featured Case Study in “Urban Trees in the ACT- nature in the city”

Featured Project in Architecture and Design Australia Article, “3 case studies that utilise stormwater as a valuable resource”

Green Building Mag, Living Pods and Naturescapes

Architecture and Design Australia Article on Aranda Adventure Garden

Sustainable Living for Familial Community and the Planet- Living Pods and naturescapes

TESTIMONIALS

Phil Gray, Principal:

“The project came about because we had to cut some large, unsafe gumtrees down in 2013. We were left with a concrete and asphalt waste land that was very hot and uninviting to play in.

I have always been concerned that we were not using water efficiently at the school and when it rained the water simply ran off to the bottom corner of our grounds and into storm water.

I spoke to some very clever people at Paul Barnett Design Group about waterharvesting and away we went. The roof spaces at our school were ideal areas to harvest and use water more efficiently.

We have a strong focus on sustainability and natural sciences in our curriculum. The children were part of this project from the beginning. They now have a living, growing example of water conservation and sustainable practices. The children participated in the project design.

The water is harvested from the library roof and then feeds into 2 very large underground trenches. The trenches hold the water for substantial periods of time until it rains again. The ground cover and trees will establish their root systems into the trenches.

We will not need to use an irrigation system – there is a dripper system in place in case of drought.

This will be a place of natural cover and beauty. 100 tonne of rocks were used during construction. More than $15k of ground cover and trees were planted.

We’ve had a great response from the Aranda community. It is an excellent outdoor learning space for the children.

We are about to begin a similar project on a smaller scale between our library and transportable classroom. Most of the money for the project was raised by the school

Paul Barnett Design Group were as enthusiastic about the project as we were. They worked with our community throughout design and construction and they continue to participate in our education programs today. Paul is part of the Aranda community now.”