Prepare for a week with nature like you’ve never seen before! Join our Mighty Oaks team during the summer as we uncover the wonders of the plants and creatures 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!
Join the mailing list to receive information about the clubs running in 2025.
The same programme will run 4 times over the summer at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
Dates:
Running times:
The club will run from 9.30am – 4.00pm daily.
Please note this programme will run at the West Gate and drop-offs and pick-ups will be from the John Hope Gateway at the West Gate.
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.
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, and unstructured time for children to enjoy together.
Themes and week breakdown:
Monday - Preparing the ground- roots and foundations
Our week begins with finding our feet and appreciating the soil! We will get to know each other and the garden by exploring the earth below us and recognising how roots, fungi and minibeasts help to create a lush and diverse environment to help plants grow.
Tuesday- Sprouting seeds
Experience the tiny power of seeds! We will create our own mini greenhouses, explore the incredible diversity of seeds and learn how small beginnings can lead to towering trees!
Wednesday - Taking time to grow
Discover how hours and seasons make a big difference to both plants and people. Explore the ancient plants living in our garden, including some species which were hanging out with the dinosaurs!
Thursday - Tending to our wild community
Observe the amazing community buzzing around us in the garden as we learn about our incredible ecosystem. Recognise that everything, from snails to wasps, and birds to flowers, have their own place and reason for being, and we’re part of this too!
Friday - Gathering stories
Step into a world of imagination and learn how to turn the fruits of our experience into amazing stories! We will hear old folk tales about plants and nature in our garden and create our own new stories for us to share with our families and friends.
Bookings are available via the RBGE Online Shop.
If you have to cancel for any reason, please contact us via schools@rbge.org.uk to discuss.
1 Sessions
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
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 the RGBE Head of Education (and RBGE staff authorized by them) 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, that would cause you to complain this should be addressed in writing to the Head of Education, schools@rbge.org.uk
Please note that we reserve the right to vary the terms and conditions above, with prior notice.
