Primary school's eco-warriors victorious in Stewart Garden Schools programme
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Warren Road Primary School is the winner of the Stewart Garden Schools programme 2015. The school, based in Orpington, Greater London, will receive £1,000 to spend at its local garden centre.
Created and run by Stewart Garden, the gardening division of UK manufacturer, Stewart Group Holdings, the programme was open to school pupils aged 6-11 years. It challenged schools to be creative with Stewart Garden products.
Warren Road Primary School impressed the judges with the way the programme was incorporated into the curriculum and how Stewart Garden products were used, such as the 22cm Kitchen Garden Propagator sets and premium seed tray. Activities for the programme were done through Warren Road Primary School’s Eco Club, which is enjoyed by students from reception to year six.
The students first weeded existing beds for seedlings, before demonstrating great initiative by hanging CDs and pots over the plants to frighten birds away from their produce.
At the end of the programme, Warren Road Primary School produced courgettes, potatoes, parsley, carrots, onions, tomatoes and other great produce. The students planted herbs and flowers with their vegetables to make colourful beddings and keep away pests.
Throughout the competition, Warren Road Primary School installed Stewart Garden water butts to collect and reuse rainwater and their Composter’s for organic fertiliser.
Christine Millband, sustainability subject leader at Warren Road Primary School, commented: “Everyone at Warren Road Primary School is ecstatic to win the Stewart Garden Schools programme 2015. Students from reception to year six were all involved in the project and their enthusiasm to grow was inspiring. Throughout the programme we wanted the students to make the key decisions, from which produce to grow to how much they should be sold for. With the £1,000 to spend at our local garden centre, we want to continue this. The students will decide how the money is spent to sustain the fantastic work they have already done. The Stewart Garden Schools 2015 programme has taught our students so many valuable lessons about growing your own produce that will last a lifetime.”
Congratulating the worthy winner, Andy Burns, managing director at Stewart Garden said: “Everyone at Stewart Garden would like to congratulate Warren Road Primary School. Great skills and real innovation made its entry standout. Warren Road Primary School has instilled an important understanding of growing your own produce among its students. Hopefully, this will last a lifetime.”
Nine runners up in the Stewart Garden Schools programme 2015 will each receive £100 to spend at their local garden centre. In alphabetical order, these are:
- Balgowan Primary School, Beckenham, Kent
- Holmes Chapel Primary School, Crewe, Cheshire East
- Lough View Integrated Primary School, Church Road, Belfast
- Mowmacre Hill Primary School, Tedworth Green, Leicester
- Stafford Preparatory School, Burton Manor, Stafford
- The Weatheralls Primary School, Soham, Cambridgeshire
- The Topsham School, Topsham, Devon
- Vale First Middle School, Worthing, West Sussex
- Whitehorse Manor Infant School, Whitehorse Road, Thornton Heath
Burns continued: “We’d also like to say a big thank you to all the other schools who entered the Stewart Garden Schools programme 2015. This year we saw an incredibly high standard of entries. Every entry embodied the concepts the programme sets out to promote.”
Each of the participating schools across the UK received kits, which equipped them to start growing their own fruit and vegetables. Worth more than £400, the kits included:
- premium seed tray
- two 22cm Kitchen Garden Propagator sets
- plastic plant pots
- 70cm Corinthian Trough
- 5 litre watering cans
- three varieties of easy-grow vegetable seeds from Pippa Greenwood’s range
- compost donated by participating garden centres and professional grower’s specialist, J Arthur Bowers
- promotional materials and an informative booklet produced by Stewart Garden
Almost 200 schools across the UK, from the Isle of Wight to Stirling, have participated in the Stewart Garden Schools Campaign since 2013. In 2014, Bradley Barton Primary School took first prize with its Wizard of Oz inspired garden.
Stewart Garden engages with people and customers through its love of gardening, strong heritage and trust. A successful UK manufacturer for 70 years, the company operates from a new state-of-the-art facility in Banbury, using the latest production techniques and quality systems.
The Stewart Garden Schools programme is taking place for a fourth consecutive year in 2016. Schools interested in participating are encouraged to keep checking the Stewart Garden website, www.stewart-garden.co.uk, Twitter, @StewartGarden, and Facebook, www.facebook.com/StewartCompany, for more information.
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