Students from Farringdon Community Academy have been presented with the top prize in Gentoo’s seventh annual gardening competition, sponsored by Esh Construction.
The school was awarded Best School Garden in the Best Community / School Garden category for their dedication to encouraging young people to take an interest in gardening and their efforts towards helping the environment.
The garden, created in the school grounds, features fruit and vegetable patches, a wildlife pond created out of an old tyre, and a variety of plants to encourage bees, butterflies and creatures. The students visit twice per week after school for enrichment, and they also visit the garden as part of their curriculum.
Esh Construction is working in partnership with Gentoo on a £12 million internal modernisation programme and committed to support the competition as part of the scheme’s social value outcomes.
The judging panel, made up of keen gardeners from Gentoo and a representative from Esh Construction, enjoyed a personal guided tour of the garden by the children where they had the added bonus of sampling some of the fruit and vegetable produce.
Simon Scott, Construction Manager at Esh Construction, said: “It was a pleasure to visit Farringdon Community Academy and commend all those involved in creating such a wonderful outdoor space that will not only provide a place to learn practical gardening skills, but also a calming space that will encourage mindfulness and reflection within nature. I was so impressed with the students’ enthusiasm and the pride they had in their work – we were even given some freshly grown produce to taste! A big well done to all involved from Esh Construction.”
The pupils and their teacher, Gail Parr, were awarded a customised trophy, certificate, and £200 worth of vouchers to be used to continue to improve their garden.
Gail Parr, Teacher at Farringdon Community Academy said: “The children are over the moon to win this award and I’m so proud and delighted that their hard work has been recognised. The students work in the garden two times a week after school. The gardening group allows them to make friends, be social around other people and feel a sense of accomplishment and achievement when they see what they have grown.”
Louise Bassett, Chief Executive Officer at Gentoo said: “Our annual gardening competition provides a great opportunity to shine a light on the hard work and dedication of local residents and children.
“It was lovely to visit Farringdon Community Academy and see the beautiful garden the children have created. It’s brilliant to see local schools encouraging children to take up gardening and take pride in their outdoor spaces. It is clear the students at Farringdon are passionate about gardening and the environment making their award win very well deserved.”
It was a pleasure to visit Farringdon Community Academy and commend all those involved in creating such a wonderful outdoor space that will not only provide a place to learn practical gardening skills, but also a calming space that will encourage mindfulness and reflection within nature. I was so impressed with the students’ enthusiasm and the pride they had in their work – we were even given some freshly grown produce to taste! A big well done to all involved from Esh Construction.”
