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A seven part scheme


Concept
Seven part scheme
Exhibition pieces
Programm

 
Phase 1
Presentation of the project to the children. 
Gathering their ideas of green spaces in general 

 

and their favourite memories of nature

The wind is pushing the red leaf
Serena B. di Tarento/ Italia





 

 
Phase 2

After the introductory sessions, the children's proposals began to take shape.

Sensorial approach: imaginary depiction of the five senses in nature.
Each sense evoked a list of natural or unnatural features:
    Smell: flowers, newly-mown grass, moss, earth, fruit, sea, etc.

Each child drew up his own lists, combined them and extracted the most attractive features.
These features formed the basis for the personal plant world.
Each child designed and drew his own preparatory project and described it.


The tree house
Gaëtan/ Brest 
snake, snails, sparrows, blackbird, red spiders, gangways, tree house, carnivorous plants.

 Twisted tree mountain
Allan/ Brest

 
 
 
Phase 3 
Discussion with the guides who, at this stage, helped to enrich and fill out the children's ideas, without changing them. Their task was to introduce additional information.
For example: Yann the red forest

Flora suggestions

Trees with red leaves throughout the year
Varieties of copper (Rubrum) beech (Fagus)
Prunus (Prunus)
North American Redbud (Cercis canadendis)
Venetian Sumach or Smoke Tree (Cotinus coggygria).		 Trees or shrubs with red flowers
Rhododendron
Azalea
Camelia
Magnolia
Rose,
Etc
Trees with red leaves in spring or autumn
Pieris japonica (Pieris japonica)
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)
Sweeet gum (Lquidambar styraciflua)
Red oak (Quercus rubra)		 Trees with red fruit
Hawthorn
Holly
Yew
Cherry
Apple
Rowan
Mountain ash
Arbutus
Cotoneaster
Etc
Fauna suggestions 
To provide red colour:
Ladybirds
Red bark beetles (Pyrrhocoris apterus (L))
Bloody-nosed beetles (Timarcha tenebricosa)
Burnet moths (which also like damp meadow vegetation)
Unforgettable birds such as the robin and bullfinch.

 
 
 
Phase 4
Literature searches or field studies which enabled 
the children to develop their ideas about their space 
and refer to other guides if necessary.
Flights of fancy took shape and became reality.


 Field study
For example: do rhododendrons like the same soil as apple trees?
How to arrange this forest ? 
Several reds, define them, co-ordinate them, how?

How can you make the reds stand out?
Dark green foliage or a blue plant?
Do the red animals mentioned all like the species of trees listed or should other species be added?
How can I make my tree house? What materials should I use?

 
 
 
Phase 5
A scale was defined. The children gradually created the features 
to be included in their space in cardboard cutouts, painted on both sides.

 
 
Vincent: willows

 

Forsythia

Mimosa

Palm

Broom

Heathland
Kinsi: floodlit forest

 
 

Larch

Mountain Pine (Pinus uncinata)
Beech

Arolla Pine (Pinus Cembra)

Californian Pine

Fir

Allan: twisted tree mountain.



 
 
 
 
 
 

Phase 6
The spaces were brought together.
There was general discussion, the organisation and creation of the collective garden led to pooling of knowledge acquired during the various lessons.
Creation of transition zones and boundaries between certain spaces, 
if necessary.

Drawing up a plan:
The seaside garden
Mountains and valleys

 
The spaces formed of cutouts which can be moved independently were then re-arranged:
For example: Blackbirds and robins could easily be hidden in the patches of light and shade in the space created by Eddy.
Yann imagined a space where fauna and flora were dominantly red.
Yann and Eddy were able to merge their spaces.

Jérémy learned about gramineae when creating his football pitch.
Nolwenn created a space of tall grasses.
These two were able to exchange the information they had acquired.

From the start each child was aware of the suggestions made to the class as a whole.

 
 
 
Phase 7

 

Making the model

 

The red forest, cherry tree island.


 The blue world.


 
 The sports corner, pile of leaves.
The stream, fruit island, the pond, the banks of the stream.