Our Mighty Oaks team will help you connect with your wild side and learn the secrets of the plants, animals and fungi that call our garden home.
Through trails, challenges, games, crafts and other activities, you will uncover the secrets of the plants of the Botanic Garden whilst growing new skills and bonds with the rest of your teammates!
The Mighty Oaks Holiday Club will run four times over the summer, the programme will repeat each week.
Dates:
Running times:
Please note this programme will run in the John Hope Gateway and that drop-off and pick-up will be via the West Gate on Arboretum Place.
The week will contain a varied programme of activities to suit the interests and needs of the children. There will be guided activities such as games, trails, storytelling, arts and crafts, as well as unstructured time for children to enjoy together.
We will discover how minibeasts help to look after our garden, learn about ecosystems and the vital roles that plants play, practice our herbology, track animals (and each other!), and make masterpieces out of natural materials. Your child will explore our incredible Botanic Garden and uncover the secrets of the plants whilst learning new skills and making new friends!
Primary school children aged 8 – 11 years old. Your child should be entering P4 and P7 after the summer holidays.
The cost is £225 per child per five-day programme.
Bookings are open via the RBGE Online Shop.
1 Adaptability
We provide a flexible timetable of activities to respond to changes in the Garden, weather or to the needs of the group.
2 Ratios
We have 15 places each week and there will be at least 1 other adult helper as well as the group leader.
3 Garden Rules
Children will agree to keeping the rules of the garden to ensure their own safety and that of the others in the group, as well as respecting the plants and animals that live in the garden and other visitors.
4 Supervision and Behaviour
Children will be supervised by our staff and volunteers who have undergone Disclosure Scotland checks. Respect for each other and nature are at the heart of everything we do so we will agree on a simple code of conduct for the week. We expect children and all adults to abide by this.
5 Drop off / Collection
Drop off will be from 9.20am for a 9.30 start. Children must be collected at the end of the session by a designated parent/guardian. We will not release a child to anyone other than the parent/guardian unless you have informed us of alternative arrangements.
6 Health and Emergency Information
We will contact you after your booking has been confirmed for health and emergency contact information. This must be supplied prior to the holiday club beginning otherwise your child will not be allowed to participate.
7 Medical Treatment
Depending on the severity of injury/illness, parents/carers will be contacted via phone call or informed at the end of the day. In the case of an emergency, you authorize RBGE staff to give permission for any emergency medical treatment, including anaesthetic, as considered necessary by the medical authorities present, and for the Garden’s first aiders to administer first aid as appropriate.
8 Absences
Contact us as soon as possible by schools@rbge.org.uk if your child is unable to attend any of the sessions they are booked on.
9 Photography
We may take photographs and/or video footage during the week which may be used for future publicity or published by RBGE. There will be opportunity to give or withdraw photo consent for your child prior to the holiday club beginning.
10 Personal Property
We strongly recommend that children do not bring valuables, e.g., mobile phones, tablets or jewellery, as we can take no responsibility for them. Bringing them is at your own risk.
11 Food
Children must bring lunch, snacks and drinks for the day. Please bring a water bottle which can be topped up throughout the day. We will have designated snack and lunch times. Please inform us if your child needs to eat out with these times due to a health condition or has any allergies we should be aware of.
12 Toilets
Staff and volunteers will stay outside and will only assist a child in a toilet situation if absolutely necessary.
13 Additional Needs
We want our programmes to be as inclusive as possible, but we don’t have the resources to provide 1-to-1 support for children with additional needs. A carer can accompany a child with additional support needs free of charge. Please contact us via email schools@rbge.org.uk to discuss if this is the case.
14 Complaints
Should any issues arise, and you would like to make a complaint please send via email for attention of the Schools’ Programme Manager to schools@rbge.org.uk
15 Safeguarding
Our Learning Team have undergone PVG checks, and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh believes that it is unacceptable for a child, young person or adult to experience abuse of any kind and accepts its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of these groups when they are engaging with RBGE. If you, or your child, has any safeguarding concerns, please contact our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL): dsl@rbge.org.uk. This inbox is monitored regularly by the team of DSLs.
Please note that we reserve the right to vary the terms and conditions above, with prior notice.
If you need to cancel your booking, please inform the Education Department by email schools@rbge.org.uk as soon as possible.
The cancellation is effective from the date your communication is received and is subject to the following charges:
Transfers will be treated as a cancellation and a re-booking unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Substitutions will only be accepted if the substitution is for the full duration of a course.
