17.10.2012 - Ausgabe: 5/2012

Sparkling source of ideas for the school playground

Ausbildungsförderwerk Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau e. V. (AuGaLa) (for the promotion of training within horticulture, landscaping and sports fields) re-organised the competition for pupils entitled “Our school playground – We see red GREEN”.

Playground@Landscape: Mr Hiller, how is the action represented, in your opinion?
BGL-Vice President Erich Hiller: Exciting right up until the end! The Competition for Pupils in 2011 was held under the motto “Our school playground – We see red GREEN” and was an initiative of landscape gardening for school pupils of general-education schools in years 7 to 10.
Across the whole of Germany, in 2010 Ausbildungsförderwerk Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau e. V. (AuGaLa) had called on the general-education schools to participate in the Competition for Pupils entitled “Our school playground – We see red GREEN” – and numerous school teams throughout Germany followed this appeal with much enthusiasm and commitment.

Playground@Landscape: Which tasks did the participating teams have?
Erich Hiller: The competition entry required that, by the end of February 2011, a creative community action programme by the pupils was to be used, with a meaningful photo, showing by means of a short, snappy and concise text why this team’s school playground needed more green.

Playground@Landscape: Which prize was then offered for the winning team?
Erich Hiller: Anyone who came up with a good idea at state level, had the chance to win the main prize of 5,000 EUR for their school at the final contest in May 2011 with a team of three persons during the National Garden Show in Koblenz – donated by the Ausbildungsförderwerk Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau e. V. (AuGaLA).

Playground@Landscape: How was the feedback?
Erich Hiller: Applications were received from almost all parts of the Federal Republic at state level with the (specialist) associations for horticulture, landscaping and sports fields, because the need for more greenery in school areas was and still is great. Pupils need a suitably-designed environment in order to meet their needs accordingly and to be able to develop. For the youngsters, these include having enough space for exercise and activities, and for the older pupils these include places to sit down and relax.

Playground@Landscape: How was the winning team determined?
Erich Hiller: The jury did not have an easy task with the selection of the team at the great finale on the 21 May 2011at the National Garden Show 2011 in Koblenz. A total of eleven teams of pupils in seven different landscape-garden-disciplines entered the final competition. Manual skills were required with the plastering of a mini terrace and the building of a wood plant board. Capacities of spatial perception, mathematical knowledge and the general wisdom of the profession were required at further stations of the ‘landscape gardening Olympics’.
The creative aspect with the questioning for ideas in relation to school playground design was overwhelming. However, some of the pupils found the task of allocating ten selected plants with growth habit, flowers and leaves difficult. ‘How are we supposed to know about them?’ joked the pupils and said: ‘We haven’t come across these in our school playground, but this is why we are competing in this!’
At the end, the three pupils from Gymnasium Heepen (grammar school) in Bielefeld were able to implement this. They won first prize and in the final came in front of eight grammar schools and two intermediate secondary schools from the whole of Germany.

Playground@Landscape: What do the winners now have planned?
Erich Hiller: The state winning team of the Gymnasiums Heepen, represented by three pupils: Hendrik Büker, Matthis Neufeld and Marlon Husstegge, secured 5,000 EUR for the transformation of its school playground. With the help of experts in horticulture and landscaping, they were now able to put their request for more greenery on the school grounds into practice. The second and third-placed schools from the performance-oriented school complex RegioGymnasium (Neubrandenburg) and Theodor-Storm school (Husum) were each awarded a ‘Tree of the Year 2011’ – beam-tree.

Playground@Landscape: What is being achieved with the pupil competition over and above this?
Erich Hiller: The Competition for Pupils for the promotion of training of German landscape gardeners was also a special occasion in 2011. It wasn’t just exciting up until the end – with an awards ceremony in the house of the landscape in the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress Park. Here all participants were convinced that they will retain fond memories of the competition and also will have learned much about the creative profession of the landscape gardener.

Playground@Landscape: Is there going to be a follow-up to the competition?
Erich Hiller: In 2013 the pupils of the general-education schools in years 7 to 10 shouldn’t let the chance to win a great prize and unique experiences – supported by AuGaLa – slip away. “Exercise + Meeting = Our School Playground” is the motto under which this year’s Competition for Pupils has been initiated. The participation period ends on 28 February 2013. The grand finale shall follow in the framework of the ‘international garden show hamburg 2013’ (igs).

The interview was led by Thomas R. Müller (Playground@Landscape)

Additionally: More information on the Competition for Pupils 2013 is available at: www.schoenerewelt.de