Last year, thanks to generous support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we hired for a brand-new position here at Chiswick House & Gardens to develop our schools programme. Alexis Moline, our Schools & Community Coordinator, joined us and hit the ground running – creating resources and lesson plans, implementing systems for the smooth running of the programme, and hiring a team of talented freelance facilitators to deliver our sessions. 

We asked Alexis to write about our progress so far. Here’s what she had to share…

Starting a schools programme from scratch is both thrilling and a bit daunting. At Chiswick House & Gardens, we’re in a uniquely inspiring position. With such rich resources for outdoor learning in our space, the possibilities for a schools programme felt endless. So, how did we choose a direction? We started by listening. 

We reached out to local schools to understand their needs, their priorities, and where we could be of most value. This wasn’t just a one-off exercise, but part of our wider Community Learning and Volunteering Plan, which is rooted in co-design. 

Sustainability, for us, doesn’t just mean being environmentally responsible. It means building something that lasts. We wanted to create something useful, relevant, and responsive to the people who will actually use it. 

Everything smells so good and I loved learning about how the herbs can go into my dinners

Through surveys, conversations, and ongoing collaborations over several years, one clear theme emerged from our communities: a need for meaningful food education. Teachers told us their students often don’t understand where food comes from, or how plants turn into meals. 

That’s when the Kitchen Garden came into focus. 

This space already plays a vital role in our community: it’s where local groups come to garden, connect, get creative, and unwind. It’s also a working garden that produces fresh fruit and veg that we then sell or donate to local food charities. We’ve seen first-hand how powerful it is when people engage directly with food as it grows. It’s nurturing, empowering, and deeply rewarding. 

My favourite part was coming back in another season and seeing how things grew. I want to start growing apples myself!

So, we considered, how we could extend this impact into schools. The answer came naturally: by turning the Kitchen Garden into a living classroom. 

Our guiding ethos is food education that nurtures curiosity, confidence, and connection. Creating memorable and meaningful experiences requires real skill, deep listening, and an understanding of the lasting impact we’re aiming to make. We hope not just to fill time slots, but to create memories and plant ideas that could grow over a lifetime. 

In the long term, we’re working to create opportunities for young people to build a personal relationship with the natural world: to understand how we use natural resources to feed ourselves, to see the connections between health, the environment, and community, and to feel a sense of care and responsibility for the planet we all share. 

I didn’t know that my cereal was made out of plants. I loved tasting all the different things in the garden 

It has been an absolute joy working with a team of expert facilitators, who bring diverse areas of expertise and passion to their role. Each session begins with facilitators setting the tone – creating a calm, welcoming atmosphere where students feel safe to ask questions and explore. We then take them on a sensory tour through the garden. We stop at the herb beds, the fruit trees, the veg patches, encouraging gentle touch, smell, and close observation. Next, we return to our gathering space for a tasting session. Students try a selection of things harvested right here in the garden, and we talk about taste, texture, smell and about how they might turn what they’ve just seen and tasted into meals of their own. 

After that, it’s time to get creative. In small groups, students become chefs, exploring the garden in small breakout groups to brainstorm menus they’d like to serve to each other. We close the session by coming back together to present their ideas and for reflection, sipping a herbal tea or cordial made from the garden, and grounding what we’ve learned in a moment of mindfulness. 

This journey is about more than just starting a schools programme. It’s about building something sustainable, meaningful, and rooted in local needs. 

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Learn about our Schools Programme at our Teachers’ Welcome Afternoon on Wednesday 22 October, from 3.30 – 5pm.

Learn more and book a session.