Outdoor Classroom Day ideas

Information sheet

A collection of school gardening resources for primary and secondary schools, to celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day.

  • School term: All year round
  • Level of experience: No experience needed
  • Subject(s): English, Science, PSHE, Art&DT, Geography, History

What is Outdoor Classroom Day?

Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to make time outdoors part of every child’s day. On two days of action each year, teachers take children outdoors to play and learn. All year round, the Outdoor Classroom Day community campaigns for more time outdoors every day. To mark the occasion, we've put together a selection of resources to encourage primary and secondary educators to incorporate gardening into their day-to-day teaching. 

Primary

Art & Design Geography Science

Look at artworks created using unconventional tools and how artists are inspired by nature.

Nature's brushes

Work out whether you have sand, clay or loam soil with a simple sensory test.

Soil texture test

Learn how plants can reproduce asexually, by taking mint stem and root cuttings.

Mint cuttings

 
English PSHE Bonus activity

Explore how words change over time and reflect how people see and think about plants.

The found words

Guide children through the process of growing microgreens, with creative prompts.

Growing pea shoots

Supplement the winter diet of wild birds by making feeders to hang outdoors.

Bird seed cake

Secondary

Science History Geography

Use these diagrams to identify the structure and name different parts of a typical flower.

Flower structure

Learn why poppies grew in Flanders Fields and create seed balls for your school grounds.

Remembrance poppies

Make a hanging planter using upcycled materials to grow edible crops indoors.

Vertical gardening

PSHE English Bonus activity

Grow beautiful plants from bulbs to bring colour to your windowsills over winter.

Indoor bulbs

Find references to over fifty different types of flower in Shakespeare's plays.

Shakespeare flowers

Identify and record different parts of plants by pressing them.

Herbarium specimen


Further opportunities

School Gardening Awards

Our free five-level awards scheme provides achievable goals to help your pupils gain the benefits that gardening brings, including supporting the environment and improving wellbeing. You will receive rewards including books, seeds and vouchers at each level to celebrate your achievement.

Get started

Training courses

Our free eLearning course are designed to support beginners to understand the key benefits of gardening in your school, backed by research. From sowing seeds to growing all year round, gain horticultural knowledge you will need to get growing in your school.

Register now

National Education Nature Park

The National Education Nature Park is an exciting free programme that gives every child and young person in England the opportunity to develop a meaningful connection to nature, build skills for their future and contribute to nature recovery. The programme provides educators with the resources, support and guidance to embed climate and nature into learning in a way that suits your setting and learners.

Find out more

New Shoots: RHS Careers

New Shoots aims to inspire the next generation of talent by giving people insights into the horticultural industry and a taste of working in a public garden. Whether you are looking for information about careers in the sector, a useful stepping-stone between education and starting a career, or want to bring a job role you heard about to life, there is something for everyone, regardless of background or experience.

Find out more

Free school visits to RHS Gardens

Introduce children and young people to the benefits of being amongst plants by taking part in a workshop at one of the five RHS gardens. We have workshops for pupils from Early Years to Key Stage 4, with a variety of interactive activities supporting pupils to discover, describe and connect with the world around them.

Book a visit