Second win for green fingered pupils from Leadgate County Infant & Nursery School
Wednesday 9th November 2011
At Durham University’s Botanic Garden the winners were announced for the fifth ‘Grow with Esh’ scheme. £3,000 prize money was split between the top three entries.
Winners for the second time were Leadgate County Infant and Nursery School, which created ‘The Five a Day & Play Garden’. The Judges were amazed at the result, the garden includes Fruit trees, play areas, a poly tunnel teaching area and an extension to their previous winner; ‘The Flutterby Garden’.
Louise Steele, teacher from Leadgate said:
“We are delighted to have won ‘Grow with Esh’ for a second time. This project was much larger than our ‘Flutterby’ Garden, but we were able to complete the new ‘Five a Day & Play’ garden with the help and donations from volunteers and local companies. We intend to use our prize money on a sustainable heating source for our poly tunnel so we are still able to grow in the winter months.”
Esh Charitable Trust’s lead scheme, ‘Grow with Esh’ has involved pupils from 20 of the region’s primary schools working with their teachers and communities to develop gardening and horticultural projects close to their school grounds. Often derelict, empty and unused spaces have been transformed.
Chairman of Esh Charitable Trust, Austin Donohoe said:
“At Esh Group we are committed to supporting young people’s education. We are very proud of that, now withstanding the difficult economic environment, we are continuing ‘Grow with Esh’ which provides such wide-ranging benefits to children’s learning and to their communities through our charity, Esh Charitable Trust.”
“Now in its fifth year, over 100 schools and communities, and thousands of young people and families have taken part. It is clear that the benefits of ‘Grow with Esh’ will continue well into the future.”
This year’s scheme was launched in May when £14,000 start up funding was divided between 20 primary schools from all over the North East.
Throughout the summer the schools have been working hard on their projects. Judges visited each school taking part during the summer to see progress for themselves and to offer any support necessary.
The winners are:
First prize – (£1,500) Leadgate County Infant and Nusery School, Leadgate, Consett
Second prize – (£1,000) Bowes Hutchinson’s C of E Primary, Bowes, Barnard Castle
Third prize – (£500) Scremerston First School, Berwick Upon Tweed
Three runners up were each awarded £100 in Garden Centre Vouchers:
- Clavering Primary School, Hartlepool
- Spring Gardens Primary, North Shields
- St Teresa’s Catholic Primary, Heaton, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Schools participating in 2011 were:
- Bowes Hutchinson’s C of E Primary School, County Durham
- Burradon Community Primary School, Cramlington
- Easington Lane Primary School, Houghton-le-Spring
- Finchale Primary School, Durham
- George Washington Primary School, Tyne & Wear
- Hamsterley Primary School, County Durham
- Jarrow Cross CE Primary School, Tyne & Wear
- Kader Primary School, Middlesbrough
- Leadgate Infant & Nursery School
- Newbottle Primary School, Houghton-le-Spring
- North Fawdon Primary School, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
- Ryhope Junior School, Sunderland
- Ryton Community Junior School, Tyne & Wear
- Scremerston First School, Berwick-Upon-Tweed
- Spring Gardens Primary School, Tyne & Wear
- St Godric’s RCVA Primary School, Thornley, Durham
- St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
- Stannington First School, Northumberland
- Willington CE Primary School, Crook
