Mintopia grows through collaboration.
Our work with schools, universities, and communities is rooted in a shared commitment to biodiversity, wellbeing, and creative education. From a single potted mint to a fully co-designed sensory garden, we use mentha as a starting point for deeper learning and connection.
Mintopian schools began with a question: what happens when you hand a child a pot of mint and invite them to care for it?
The answer – it turns out – is a growing network of schools, educators, researchers, and communities across the UK who are rethinking how we learn with plants. Our work in education is grounded in biodiversity, creativity, and wellbeing, and it continues to branch out in new directions every season.
Testimonials
The ‘intmintmint Biodiversity Challenge’
Our flagship schools programme, the Mint Biodiversity Challenge, invites young growers to take responsibility for rare and unusual varieties of mentha – from strawberry mint to Corsican mint – and track their growth, scent, spread, and care. It’s an accessible way into citizen science, horticultural curiosity, learning about ecosystems and climate awareness.
Dozens of schools across the UK are already involved, and the collection is growing. Each participating school becomes a living node in a national biodiversity network, with new ways of thinking about care, environmental learning, and community action; contributing to a nationally recognised Plant Heritage collection and a growing community of care. Mint becomes a medium for making connections – to nature, to each other, and to futures we want to grow.
Research, Publications and Public Engagement
We don’t just grow plants – we grow knowledge. Mintopia’s education work is rooted in rigorous, creative research. We’ve published on mint and environmental learning in peer-reviewed journals like the International Journal of Art & Design Education (iJADE) and have chapters forthcoming in academic volumes exploring folklore, pedagogy, and sustainability.
Click here for links to our various outputs and resources.
You might also have come across us on TV, radio, and podcasts – from RHS shows to S4C’s Garddio y Mwy, and the BBC’s Gardener’s World – where we’ve been championing mint as both a learning tool and a living archive of biodiversity.
[TODO]Quote from Monty?
Whether it’s on the telly or in your child’s school assembly, Mintopia helps shift how people think about plants, learning, and care.
[TODO] [PHOTOS/VIDEO OF GARDDIO Y MWY]
Real Gardens, Real Places – Community Projects
Education isn’t confined to classrooms. We’ve helped shape community growing spaces, including the Brown Knowl Village Green Community Herb Garden, where local residents, families, and volunteers come together around shared growing and care.
We also support schools and organisations to develop their green infrastructure and grow spaces that nourish both people and the planet, through:
- School and community garden co-design
- Collaborative Bid-writing and project planning
- Long-term mentoring and evaluation
- Staff and volunteer training
- Cross-sector collaboration and partnerships
- Consultancy and creative planning
- Ongoing project management and mentoring
- We also have a wealth of resources
Every space is different – so we work with you to co-create something rooted in your place, your people, and your possibilities.
Let’s Grow Something Together
If you’re a school, community group, or organisation thinking about starting a garden, reviving an outdoor space, or introducing biodiversity and wellbeing into your setting – get in touch.
If you’re an educator, grower, researcher, or community organiser, we’d love to explore how we might work together.
We’re always up for a conversation to explore what’s possible and how we might help – no pressure, no obligations, just a chat to see what’s possible. Click here to send us a message.
No idea is too small. It all starts with a single sprig.