New rooftop garden aims to be urban oasis for all in Warrington

GREEN-fingered youngsters have helped kick-start work on a new rooftop garden in the heart of Warrington.

Culture Warrington and Golden Square have teamed up to launch ‘Sky Garden’ on the top floor of the shopping centre’s car park.

The aim is for the site to be a living addition to Warrington Museum’s natural history offer for educational projects. But when it is fully developed, the garden will be a tranquil place that anyone can visit to sit, eat and rest on warm days.

Children from Barrow Hall Primary School in Great Sankey were invited to help get things started in transforming the blank roof space, sleepers and six tonnes of soil into a mini urban oasis.
The pupils got stuck in with some ceremonial planting and learnt about the vegetables and herbs that will be grown on site. There will also be a colourful range of plants, flowers and small trees.

Headteacher John Littler said: “We’re involved in an Eco Schools Committee and it’s fantastic for the children to have an opportunity like this where they can have fun while learning about the environment, growing food and the mutual benefit of community links.”

The Sky Garden project came about thanks to Museum Development North West funding.

Amanda Moore, Education and Learning Officer at the museum, said: “The main reason for doing this project is to make the town centre a greener and more biodiverse place to work and live, as well as showing people what you can do in your own space to encourage nature as well as growing some of your own food.
We hope the space will be used by everyone as a quiet, green place to sit, eat and rest while they are in the town centre.”

Trial sessions for families and nurseries are planned in the coming weeks before the garden is rolled out to the wider community.

Kim Moate, Training and Social Development Officer at Golden Square, said: “The Sky Garden is something we’ve wanted to do for a couple of years and partnering with Amanda at Culture Warrington to turn that from a concept into a reality has been amazing.
We want to educate the children that you only need a small space to be able to grow things and hopefully they’ll take that ethos home with them.”

Ian Cox, Centre Manager at Golden Square, added: “This is just the first step in developing the garden. Golden Square has always been at the heart of the community and this project shows we’re investing in Warrington’s future communities. Yes, it’s only a little garden to start off with but actually the message we’re trying to get across is that small steps can make a huge difference.”