This project uses participatory inquiry methods with Year 2/3 students at Glenelg Primary School in Adelaide, Australia, to address a student-identified desire to learn outside more often. Through a seven-week inquiry, students selected areas around the school to explore, collected and analysed existing plant data, and delivered garden plans. The students collectively chose 112 unique plants for their final designs, with sensory components being the most common feature. Plants with two or more sensory parts and flowering plants saw the most significant increase from a survey of existing plants in the schoolyard. Student engagement in inquiry strategies and connection to nature also increased significantly. The designs were used to construct a native sensory garden at Glenelg Primary School in 2022, resulting in student actions having an ecological and social impact on the school community and future outdoor teaching opportunities.