Duchess joins society for event
The South of England Agricultural Society hosted the 26th Jim Green Challenge at its Showground last week. The society announced that its 2024 president, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh GCVO, attended the event, which took place last Wednesday.
They said the day also saw 120 students and adults with additional educational needs come together from across Kent, Sussex, and Surrey.
Bryony Paine, study programme leader at Brinsbury College, said: “The students at Brinsbury College have been working hard over the last few months to create some fantastic work in preparation for the Jim Green Challenge.
"It has become an important part of our curriculum each year, and the students gain a huge amount of skills from participating in the group challenges, such as teamwork, communication skills, horticulture knowledge and practical skills.
"We had the added excitement of The Duchess of Edinburgh's visit, and the students were very proud to showcase their work.”
The society said the challenge featured a variety of competitions and evidencebased project work.
The skills needed included: practical crafts, verbal identification, pre-planning, and effective presentation of evidence.
This year’s tasks included: constructing a model sheep from recycled materials; arranging a vase with collected dried flowers, seed heads, grasses, twigs, and evergreens; creating a wooden toy with movable parts using hand-held tools only; baking vanilla sponge cupcakes adorned with sheep decorations; and cultivating spring bulbs in a planter.
The society said participants also went through practical assessments, which involved identifying pond life, constructing a self-supporting scarecrow, and preparing a flowerbed for spring planting.
The Duchess visited each area to watch the challenges and meet students, then presented trophies to the win