BIDDEFORD — New ideas are sprouting in the Biddeford Primary School’s Sensory Garden.

The garden, built over the course of two years with the help of 100 volunteers and 15 businesses, provides a child-centered space for playing, relaxing and learning.

“Sometimes, coming out here and being in nature will give the students an opportunity to release some energy, to experience sensory relief,” said second-grade teacher Lori Flynn.

Originally, beautifying the courtyard was the only aim, after Biddeford School Superintendent Jeremy Ray asked the primary school to do something with the space. The idea of planting a few flowers quickly grew into something more, however.

When planning the garden, which opened in October with the help of a $10,000 grant from the Maine Community Foundation, Flynn researched the positive impact of nature on students. Today, occupational and physical therapists at the school occasionally incorporate the garden into sessions with pupils.

Flynn hopes to install a water system in the garden, allowing children to pump the water needed for plants that are currently germinating in composted soil inside a classroom.

When the seedlings are hearty and the weather is cooperative, the kids will transfer their bean, pepper, herb or marigold plants outside to large wooden planters that hold 18 buckets each.

The composted soil is stored inside a large plastic bin in Beth Donohoe’s second grade classroom. Each day, the pupils compare the size of seedlings planted in soil fertilized with the compost to seedlings planted in regular soil.

The compost contains worms, which break down organic material and help air and water get into the soil. “Every week, we have a new worm caretaker,” Donohoe said, “to make sure the compost is not too dry, not too wet.”

This past week, Aliyah Annilus, 7, of Biddeford, was the worm caretaker.

“They are kind of gross,” Aliyah said, before meticulously breaking apart old Brussels-sprouts leaves and distributing them over the wormy soil.

Flynn and Donohoe hope the worm caretaker task shows the children how waste can be transformed into something useful.

Henry Grohman, 8, also of Biddeford, likes the idea that once a plant grows, “you’ll have something to eat.”

First-grade teacher Joyalle Mears is applying for a $1,000 grant with Project Learning Tree, an environmental education program, to foster instructive sensory experience in the garden. The grant requires that BPS partner with a local business to implement a new project.

“I would like to get more ready-to-go science out there,” Mears said.

One idea she has is to install five wooden barrels in the garden, each representing a different sense. A barrel dedicated to taste, for example, might include seasonal berries that pupils can eat. Another idea is to feature colorful, vibrant art by children.

Mears hopes to link these new sensory tools to Project Learning Tree’s outside science lessons, enabling teachers to more easily incorporate the garden into their curriculums. Her vision is that the garden will increasingly be used as an outside classroom.

The garden is already part of the children’s learning experience, Mears said. During a recent science session, she and her pupils went to the garden every day at half-hour increments, stood in the same spot and faced the same direction to track the movement of the sun.

“The garden,” she said, “provided a constant from which to do the experiment.”