Two local primary schools in Sunderland have received new gardening equipment to start the new school year after coming out on top of a city-wide gardening competition.
The competition, which was organised by ourselves and sponsored by our partners Tolent, saw Dame Dorothy Primary School and St Benet’s RC Primary School scoop the top prizes as recognition for their dedication to encouraging young children to get involved in gardening.
St Benet’s school received a bench for its garden, to provide a place for the children to sit and enjoy the outdoor space, after a recent project saw the children work to create an environmentally friendly and sustainable outdoor space.
Dame Dorothy Primary School in Roker received support for its scheme to create a new generation of sustainable gardeners. The school’s garden features vegetable patches where the children grow everything from carrots to plum tomatoes, and to support its efforts, it has been gifted a composter, children’s wheelbarrows, bark, and seed.
Catherine Loftus, Head of Tenant Voice at Gentoo Group, said: “The work both primary schools are doing to encourage children to take up gardening and enjoy their outdoor spaces is brilliant and I’m delighted that through our annual gardening competition, we can recognise and support their amazing efforts.
“Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces was great and we’re proud to provide support for the schools after an extremely challenging period for the education sector.”
Chris Price, Regional Director for Tolent, said: "It was a pleasure to have supported this competition with Gentoo, who are really making a difference across a host of communities in Sunderland. The schools are delighted with their new equipment and this is just another way we're working to enrich the places where we work, and we hope to continue this engagement in the future."
The two schools were recognised in the community category of our annual Ready, Set, Grow! Gardening competition which recently saw residents from Peacehaven Court in Washington named as the winners.
The annual competition launches in Spring each year and is announced via our social media channels.
