A Winning Workshop with Landscape Architect, Rosie

To begin the year, Oliver Staines, Head of Geography and Sustainability Co-Ordinator, put out a call for ideas to reinvigorate the garden between Townson Sixth Form Centre and the Drama Studio.

From all the entries submitted to the Wildlife and Wellbeing Garden Design competition, three really stood out to the judges for their creativity and comprehensive approach to the brief. These designs were completed by Ava (Year 7), Livi (Year 8) and Alfie (Year 9).

Now in the Summer Term, all three winners spent Friday 7th May participating in a day long workshop with Old Leightonian and Landscape Architect, Rosie Cockroft, and Sustainable Design Consultant, Mark Mason, as well as Oliver, to help combine their ideas into a final plan. All came prepared to the workshop, bringing with them their favourite garden design inspirations to discuss.

Rosie, who holds a Masters in Landscape Architecture and is experienced in diverse charity group work, was eager to get stuck into the Townson Garden project with our students; a space that presents plenty of opportunities for development. Having completed a few garden makeovers in her time for friends and neighbours, as well as on a professional basis, it was clear that she valued collaborative thinking and the pupils’ ideas.

Now based in London, and having some of the city’s delights curtailed by the pandemic, Rosie was pleased to return to the 65 acres of space on the Park where she saw the Michael Malnick Centre for Music and Media for the first time since the building was opening in 2019, and bumped into some familiar faces amongst the staff from her own time at LP.

Rosie enthused “I am thrilled to be part of the wellbeing and wildlife garden project. Spending a day back on the Park was brilliant, especially to work with Alfie, Ava and Livi whose competition entries were so impressive. I look forward to seeing the ideas for the garden come to life!”

“It was great to welcome back Old Leightonian, Rosie Cockroft who has such palpable enthusiasm for working on this kind of community-led environmental project and I am so pleased that the competition winners were able to gain an insight into the field and process of ‘Landscape Architecture’ through the hands-on experiences of the day.” Commented Oliver.