Kew to open giant new Children’s Garden in May 2019

18 March 2019 - The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has embarked on its most ambitious design project in recent years, with the creation of a giant new Children’s Garden due to open to the public on 18 May 2019. Covering 10,000m², it’s the size of nearly 40 tennis courts, and has been designed by Kew garden designers around the elements that plants need to grow: earth, air, sun and water. Children will be able to play and explore as they wind their way through a landscape filled with over 100 mature trees, discovering hidden treasures and adventure, and developing their love of nature, plants and the outdoors along the way.

Children will enter the Garden through a tunnel of scented Star jasmine plants before arriving first at a 200-year-old English Oak tree, surrounded by an aerial walkway 4m above the ground. Here, the journey of discovering what plants need to grow begins! The first element to explore is the Earth Garden, a giant sand pit with a quirky play hut village surrounded by Bamboo plants, tunnel slides for muddy adventures and a totem pole with unique carvings showing the germination process of an acorn.

Next along the trail is the Air Garden, with winding paths, giant windmill flowers, colourful pollen spheres, hammocks, swings and trampolines. A mini amphitheatre nestled under shade of some of Kew’s largest Eucalyptus trees can be used for storytelling, or for parents to sit and keep an eye on their little explorers.

The Sun Garden is next; a large open space where children can let their imagination run wild beside a ring of sunflowers, cherry trees and pink candy floss grass. Intricate pergolas festooned with colourful climbing plants and apple trees trained along a tunnel of hoops will take children on a sensory adventure.

Lastly, the Water Garden, (sponsored by Thames Water) is filled with water pumps for kids to control the flow of the water into a splash pool. Waterlily shaped stepping stones will encourage children to hop along the different streams and engage them in the importance of the water cycle to plants.

For those slightly older and more adventurous kids, a giant log scramble sits among the pine trees, waiting to be climbed. The challenge is to get across to the leaning tower without touching the ground!

Suzie Jewell, Children’s Garden Designer, RBG Kew said: “With the Children’s Garden we really hoped to design and create a unique space for children to play in, that would not only be fun and stimulate their imagination, but also give them a different perspective on how the plants grow and why they are so important. Part of what makes this space so special is that we had existing trees on site around which to map the paths and play areas - it became a play area among the trees – something different in London. I hope that this will lead to a deeper connection with nature and a lifelong love of plants.”

Work on the 10,000m² site, which is close to the existing White Peaks family café, began in October 2017, and was inspired by the desire to encourage kids to develop a lasting relationship with and love for plants and nature. The site already had 62 mature trees in place, including Eucalyptus and Turkey Oaks, and a further 40 mature trees were added to this space, including Gingko and Pines. These ‘old giants’ are part of what makes this garden unique and will capture the imagination of kids and adults alike as they explore the pathways and different elements of the Garden.

Sandra Botterell, Director of Marketing and Commercial at RBG Kew said: “The new Children’s Garden is a wonderful addition to the Kew landscape and will add real value to the family experience, giving young visitors the opportunity to see nature in a new way. Spaces like this are essential for children to grow and develop a relationship with plants, understand their importance, as well as to have fun.”

Poetry competition

To get the creative juices flowing Kew has teamed up with National Geographic Kids magazine for a poetry competition. The poems, which must be inspired by a garden, can focus on anything from ancient oaks and emerging flowers to giant waterlilies and root systems, will be judged by Young People’s Laureate for London winner Momtaza Mehri.

Momtaza said about the competition, “Poetry is a magical way to engage with the world around us! I’m excited to read about the different experiences of each young poet who takes part.”

Be sure to check out the National Geographic Kids website for more information.

Funding for this project has come from private donations and corporate sponsor Thames Water. Fundraising is continuing to complete the project.

Ends

For images and more information please contact the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Press Office on 020 8332 5607 or email pr@kew.org

Notes to Editors

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world-famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding collections as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. Kew Gardens is a major international and a top London visitor attraction. Kew’s 132 hectares of landscaped gardens, and Wakehurst, Kew’s Wild Botanic Garden, attract over 2.1 million visits every year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and celebrates its 260^th anniversary in 2019. Wakehurst is home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. Kew receives approximately one third of its funding from Government through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and research councils. Further funding needed to support Kew’s vital work comes from donors, membership and commercial activity including ticket sales.

Kew is extremely grateful for all the donations it has received so far for the Children’s Garden, without which this project would not have been possible. For more information on how to support the final phases of the build please visit https://support.kew.org/donate/childrensgarden#/ or call 0208 332 3200.

About Thames Water

Thames Water is the UK’s biggest water and wastewater services provider. We have invested more than £1 billion every year, on average, for the past 13 years, improving service for over 15 million customers across London, the Thames Valley and surrounding areas. For an average of just over £1 a day for our households, we provide 2.7 billion litres of clean drinking water and safely remove 4.4 billion litres of wastewater – every day, 365 days a year. We are regulated by Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate and, as part of our draft £11.7 billion business plan for 2020-25, propose to invest record amounts on improving resilience, service and efficiency, as well as providing more support for customers in vulnerable circumstances.