McWilliam Studio, alongside generous donors, helped to create a Peace Garden for the children at St Mary’s C of E Primary School in Old Amersham. Gavin McWilliam, from McWilliam Studio, tells us about their recent pro-bono project
Gavin McWilliam first became involved in creating a garden for St Mary’s C of E Primary School when he was asked by the school to look over some of the pupils’ designs for what they would want in the school’s peace garden. From the designs, Gavin picked out the elements which could be integrated into this garden with the goal of “interpreting their designs and bringing them to reality.”
Taking the children’s ideas forward Gavin created a design for the space that could be physically built and easily maintained going forwards. The main function of the garden was to be peaceful, sustainable, and designed by the children for the children. With this in mind, Gavin comments: “I went through the designs and saw patterns that the children had picked up on, such as colour, fragrance, the idea of stepping stones and the idea of personalising the garden which we did by adding all the class names – so it’s very unique to them”.
AllGreen kindly donated the boulders and the sliced stones, organised the engraving and very generously provided the topsoil, gravel and haulage at reduced cost. FDL Landscaping donated irrigation and plants as well as constructing the garden on labour only rates. Deepdale Trees donated three stunning Prunus serrula mutli-stemmed trees, and nurseries Tendercare and The Plant Specialist supported the scheme with plants at a reduced cost.
The school says: “We are delighted with the Peace Garden. It has transformed the landscape of the school and provided a place of tranquillity for the children.
“We were fortunate to be gifted a donation from Old Amersham Revitalisation (OAR) with the condition that it was spent to support the children of Old Amersham.
“We worked hard with the children to produce a design for our Peace Garden that would be inviting to all our pupils regardless of their faith or beliefs. The Peace Garden will provide a quiet, safe place for children to use for prayer, meditation or reflection.
“We liaised with Gavin McWilliam to share our vision of how the land would be used but what he produced far exceeded our expectations. He took the children’s design suggestions into account making them realistic and possible whilst also adding his creativity and expertise.
Head teacher Julie Hills adds: “We now have a garden fit for a Chelsea Flower Show exhibit in our school grounds and the children love it.”
Photography : Alister Thorpe