News from the gardening world
Around 200 UK schools competed in national RHS competition
Young gardeners in London have scooped top prize in a national schools’ garden competition, run by the RHS. The team, aged 13-15, from St Gregory’s Catholic Science College in Harrow designed and built their horticultural haven and outdoor learning environment on a patch of land originally earmarked for a staff car park extension.
The leafy facility is used for a variety of lessons across the curriculum and as a focus for campaigns to raise awareness of environmental issues, such as reducing plastic use, and the students grow all their plants organically. They also maintain a large community flower bed at the entrance to the local park.
Winner of the RHS Young School Gardener of the Year award was 15-year-old Ellie Micklewright of Newport Girls’ High School Academy Trust in Shropshire. Enterprising Ellie started her school’s gardening club from scratch, encouraging 40 fellow student and staff to transform the school grounds. She planned and designed the garden and also secured funding to help create wildlife habitats, a sensory zone and an orchard of heritage fruit varieties.
History teacher Matt Willer from Reepham High School and College in Norfolk launched ‘The Allotment Project’ on a corner of his school playing field. Now hundreds of children and young people devote time to growing organic produce for the school kitchen, making Matt Gardening Champion of the Year. Leading the judging was BBC
Gardeners’ World presenter Frances Tophill. The Harrow team win a cedar greenhouse donated by competition sponsor Gabriel Ash, with other winners and finalists receiving cold frames, tools and National Garden gift vouchers.
Visit www.rhs.org.uk/ schoolgardening.