Forest garden at Roots & Wings School

Forest garden, wildflower meadow & participative planting

Nature with Wings - 2

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert (Brussels)

100

500

March 2026

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The Project

Following a first greening phase completed in September 2025, Roots & Wings School in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert wanted to continue transforming its outdoor spaces.

This second phase, carried out in March 2026, aimed to enhance an underused part of the schoolyard by creating an edible, vibrant and accessible space for pupils. The project was funded by KBC Brussels, whose employees also took part in the planting alongside the SOWoods team.

The objective was to strengthen biodiversity across the site, improve soil permeability and enable children to observe nature at close range within their school environment.

Initial situation

The school already had a large outdoor space that was almost entirely demineralised. During a first SOWoods intervention in September 2025, a microforest and two pollinator-friendly hedges were created.

However, another part of the schoolyard remained underused and offered considerable potential for a new green development. The challenge was to transform this space into an educational, pleasant and biodiversity-friendly area.

SOWoods’ solution

In March 2026, SOWoods designed and created a forest garden made up of 100 fruit trees and shrubs. The planting was carried out as a participatory activity with employees of KBC Brussels, the project’s partner and funder.

Next to the fruit-growing area, a 300 m² wildflower meadow was sown to diversify the vegetation and provide new resources for pollinating insects and local wildlife.

A path was also laid out through the forest garden. It will allow pupils to move among the planting areas, observe how they evolve throughout the seasons and experience nature from very close by.

This second phase complements the work completed in 2025 and helps turn the outdoor space at Roots & Wings into an increasingly vibrant, educational and biodiversity-friendly environment.

Benefits

Ecologocial :

Planting of 100 fruit trees and shrubs.
Creation of a 300 m² wildflower meadow.
Greater diversity of habitats and food resources for insects, birds and small wildlife.
Stronger connections between the school’s different green areas.
Progressive improvement of soil quality and soil life.

Climate-related :

Improved soil permeability and rainwater infiltration.
Gradual creation of new shaded and cooler areas.
Reduced direct exposure of the soil to sunlight and drying.
Gradual carbon storage in the vegetation and soil.
Greater resilience of the outdoor space during periods of high temperatures.

Social :

Enhancement of an underused part of the schoolyard.
Creation of an observation and learning space in direct contact with nature.
Opportunity for pupils to walk through the forest garden along the newly created path.
Awareness-raising around fruit trees, pollinators and ecosystem functioning.
Direct involvement of KBC Brussels employees in a project benefiting the school.
A shared activity bringing together a company, a school and urban greening professionals.