On Independence Day, 15th August 2013, Sumita Sinha, Executive Director of Charushila led a workshop at the school with the residential students. Charushila is a small charity focusing on the empowerment of the individual and the community through participation and engagement.

Charushila engages in projects, research and events connected with the creation of public spaces using sustainable and local resources, knowledge transfer and community engagement. Charushila believes that in particular, engaging with children and youth encourages their potential and creativity through positive interaction with the built and natural environments. The Sanskrit word 'Charushila' is made from Charu meaning 'Beautiful' and Shila meaning 'foundations'.

The children were asked to draw their vision of Ladakh's future or their environment (school/home) on long sheets which became 'horizontal tangkas'.  Each group collaborated, debated, negotiated and finally drew their ideas on paper.

It was a fascinating process and the drawings themselves provided very revealing insights into what attracts, focuses and engages children into the built and natural environments. In particular, children were very close to the spiritual environment which is very dominant in the landscape and culture of Ladakh. Some significant themes emerged and could indicate further how children can become active citizens and responsible for future of Ladakhi society.

With Simon, as resident landscape architect, and Sarah, as a volunteer landscape architect, work on implementing the plan got off to a great start in the spring of 2013. A plant nursery has been established, a landscape office has been built, the spine path has been planted and work is underway on the terrace in front of the visitor centre. Simon and Sarah will be returning to the UK in mid-summer and their places will be taken by Paddy, as resident landscape architect, and Arlene, as a volunteer landscape architect. Arlene’s trip will be funded by the UK Landscape Institute’s Travel Award. Thank you and good luck to all concerned!

After a cold winter, landscape work resumed in the Spring of 2013. Simon returned for a second period as the resident landcsape architect. He flew to Nepal and travelled to Ladakh on his motor bike. Sarah, also a Greenwich landscape architect, joined him to work as a volunteer landscape architect. The irrigation pipes supplied by Jains can be seen in the background, waiting to be installed in the next month or so. The photographs are both of the nursery compound which was built in 2012 to Simon’s design. This work has to proceed the main planting because Ladakh does not have a nursery industry which could supply trees and other plants.

Buddhist Garden Design History

On 26th February 2013 Tom Turner is giving a lecture about the influence of Buddhism on garden design, followed by a lecture by Simon Drury-Brown on the possible design of a Dragon Garden for the Druk White Lotus School in Ladakh, India. Tickets are available from Eventbrite. The lectures will be in the King William Building on the Maritime Campus, starting at 6.30 pm

Staff and students from the University of Greenwich Landscape Architecture programmes are offering to help make a garden for the Druk (Dragon) White Lotus School in Ladakh, India. The design of the Druk White Lotus School, by Arup Associates, is based on a Tibetan mandala. ‘Mandala’ is a Sanskrit word. It was used for the sections of the Rig Veda and became associated with a visual symbol, based on a circle and square, used for the layout of temples and the design of stupas and many other sacred objects. DWLS was severely damaged by a mudslide in 2010. The site is in a cold desert and there is a great need for a garden and landscape environment. If a project is seen to be viable, our hope is to pioneer an approach to cold desert landscape design which will have a wider relevance in the Himalayan region. Global warming is causing the glaciers to retreat and putting the whole area at risk.

Reserve your free tickets here for Tuesday 26th February 2013 to hear a talk, in London, on Buddhist gardens by a world expert on the history of western as well as eastern gardens.

Tom Turner will be giving this free talk in London from 6.30 - 8.30pm. Tom visited the school in summer 2012 and is helping to create a landscape design for the DWLS campus.

Joining Tom will be Simon Drury-Brown, a landscape architect, who will talk about his visit to DWLS last year and his plans for the DWLS landscape programme in 2013.

The Sustainable Landscapes Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and Construction at the University of Greenwich is hosting the talks which are free to members of the public. The venue is:

King William 315 Lecture Theatre (LT KW315)
Old Royal Naval College
London, SE10 9LS

Tuesday, 26 February 2013 from 18:30 to 20:30 (GMT)

Tickets have to be reserved in advance through the link below. We look forward to seeing many of you there.

Click here to reserve your free tickets

We wish to create a lush garden landscape for the school community. We started this year in April with a volunteer landscape architect, Yiannis Baltagiannis, creating planted areas along the central residential spine of the campus, see below:

Yiannis started a plant nursery to nurture seedlings for additional planting, see below:

Yiannis also got the greenhouse in use again following the winter, see below:

After three months, Simon Brown, another volunteer landscape architect, took over from Yiannis.

Simon developed the plant nursery concept with a specialist from the University of Greenwich, London, Tom Turner. A new planting area in front of the greenhouse has been created for growing vegetables, see below:

Drip irrigation of the campus is planned for 2013, allowing controlled watering and efficient use of water.

We are creating a landscape strategy with help from specialists at the University of Greenwich. Tom Turner, spent two weeks in Ladakh to help with this process, see below:

The students enjoyed the summer gardening competition in which they worked on garden areas outside their classrooms, see below:

2012 was a busy year. Two IT-enabled classrooms were built, plus the North block of Residence 4 which will accommodate 44 remote area students. The masonry work on the mudslide defenses was also completed, the wall now being about 1km long and up to 3 metres high. A huge congratulations to the Construction Team.

Below: IT-enabled classrooms being painted and completed.

Below: Residence 4 under construction.

Below: The defensive wall to protect from any future mudslide event.

Below: The local Construction Manager (right) and UK Development Manager (left).

The students worked hard on designing, planting and nurturing their gardens over the spring and summer. The landscape architecture volunteer Yiannis Baltagiannis awarded certificates and trophies to the winning class in each section.

Druk White Lotus School and Arup Associates received The Emirates Glass LEAF Award for 'Best Sustainable Development' on 21st September 2012. Rachel Glynn and Sean Macintosh accepted the award on behalf of the team. Former Resident Engineers Dorothee Richter, Francesca Galeazzi, Nicola Perandin, Suria Ismail and Rob Baldock were there too.