The wellbeing garden at Aylsham High School established in memory of much-loved teacher Catherine Cartwright is now open in a quiet area of the school grounds.  Cat, who was a geography and science teacher, and also head of Felbrigg house at the school, tragically took her own life in 2021 following a period of mental health struggles.  The wellbeing garden has been created to give staff at the high school a space to be able to reflect and relax in peaceful, natural surroundings during break and lunchtimes.  A garden room has also been incorporated into the design and was constructed with the help of a financial donation from The Friends of Aylsham High School.  Both the garden and garden room will also be used by pastoral staff and social, emotional and mental health assistants from local charity, The Aylsham Community Trust (Families), in their supportive work with students. 

Spending time in gardens being surrounded by nature, is well documented as having a positive impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing.  The garden, designed by Rachel Greengrass Garden Design, has the restorative properties of nature at its heart, and offers year-round interest.  Seating areas have been positioned amongst mature trees, offering spaces for peace and calm, and the planting design incorporates a range of sensory experiences. Plants have been selected for their textural interest, while a herb garden has been planted for scent.  Sculptures, which reflect Cat’s love of horses and nature, have also been created for the garden.  Tanya Wiseman, who is leading the project would like to thank the many people from our local community who have come together and donated their time and resources to help transform a seldom used corner of the school field into a beautiful garden. 

Tanya, who was a friend and colleague of Cat’s, said, “I feel sure that Cat would be immensely proud of what we have achieved with the wellbeing garden.  I would like to thank the many staff, students and friends who have come together, to create a wonderful mindful space dedicated to Cat, which will continue to develop, and nurture those who spend time there.”

Tanya would particularly like to thank:

• Rachel Greengrass for her carefully considered garden design
• Fiona Chant for her contribution to the design of the garden and her time and gardening skills and expertise
• Monica Harding, development officer for TACT (Families) for all of her support with the project
• The Friends of Aylsham High School for their generous donation towards the garden room.
• Groundwork, Tesco’s Community Grant for their donation of £1500. Money raised by blue counters at the Tesco store in Aylsham has provided outdoor seating and sensory planting
• Tesco in Aylsham who have donated over 500 spring bulbs.
• Duke of Edinburgh students who have been volunteering and clearing the area to make space for the garden
• The Aylsham Learning Federation site team who have constructed a range of raised beds
• Tom Barker, a talented AHS student who made the sunflower metal sculpture in the garden
• AHS construction students who made the wooden planters
• Sam Downing, The Downing Farrier, a local farrier who donated horseshoes, including ones which came from Cat’s horse to create horse themed sculptures for the garden and Bei Sadler, Head of DT at AHS who soldered the horseshoes together to create artwork for the garden
• Liam Feeney who donated all the bark chippings for the beds
• Also, huge thanks to the many staff, students and friends from the local community who have dedicated so much of their time to help make the garden a reality.

The project is still evolving with more plants needed to complete the design.  Tanya would be delighted to hear from local business owners or green-fingered members of the community who would like to donate any plants, iron sculptures or bird boxes for the garden. Tanya can be contacted at the high school via email twiseman@aylshamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk