Ayrshire schools named joint winners in pocket garden contest
Two schools in Ayrshire were named as joint winners in a national gardening competition.
Auchlineck Early Childhood Centre and Kilmaurs Early Childhood Centre were voted joint winners in the annual Pocket Garden Design Competition.
Organised by Keep Scotland Beautiful in partnership with the Garden for Life Forum, the competition gives nursery and school pupils, aged three to 18, the opportunity to design a miniature pocket-sized garden.
This year's designs were inspired by the 2025 'Our Heritage' theme and had to include food for people, be good for wildlife and reuse something.
More than 130 entries were received from schools across Scotland and judges had a tough time whittling the numbers down.
A judging panel consisting of representatives from the Garden for Life Forum, Butterfly Conservation and Historic Environment Scotland selected three overall winners based on the design themes while a public vote was also help to choose the public's favourite.
Sacred Heart ELC in Falkirk, Dunscore Primary in Dumfries and Galloway and Grandtully Primary, Perth & Kinross were picked by the judges in the three design categories.
More than 4,000 votes were cast in the public vote which saw Kilmaurs and Auchinleck tied for first place.
Eve Keepax, senior education and learning officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: 'If you're in need of something to raise your spirits, spend a moment browsing the Pocket Gardens showcase. There are photos and stories full of creativity, resilience, humour, teamwork and care. All in addition to wonderful first-hand experience of problem-solving, sustainability, nature and thinking about our values.
'This year's heritage theme provided a focus for children across the country to show what they value about what has been passed down to them, or something about where they live that is special for them. It included industry, food, landscape, pop culture, story, and even the humble weed.
'The showcase winners did a fantastic job bringing these garden ideas to life and the sheer number of votes we received shows how much the public enjoyed them too.
'I'd like to thank everyone who took part for creating these magical designs and say a huge congratulations to all our winners. I'm already looking forward to next year's competition.'
The Pocket Garden Design Competition aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Four, Learning for Sustainability, and is run as part of our Climate Action Schools framework.
It gives pupils and educators a creative focus for learning for sustainability, STEM skills, and the Curriculum for Excellence while learning more about the climate and nature emergencies and having fun learning outdoors.
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