Eco Garden Competition Success!
Eco-garden competition winners announced in local press
As you may be aware (from local press releases this week), we are delighted to announce that the school has won a share of £60,000 in Stansted Airport's eco-garden competition, which took place earlier this term. Seven green-thinking local primary schools (in Essex and Hertfordshire) within ten miles of the airport were encouraged to submit designs for gardens or green spaces that improve biodiversity to compete for the cash prizes. A prize fund of £45,000 was initially offered by the airport for the competition but due to the high quality of entries, it was decided to award grants to all shortlisted schools, resulting in a total prize pot of £60,000.
Quote from Daniel Burford, Stansted Airport’s Community Engagement Manager, said: "We had some really
fantastic ideas on our shortlist, and it was really tough to narrow it down, so we decided to award cash prizes to all of the shortlisted schools, increasing the total prize pot from £45,000 to £60,000. We are really pleased with how many entries we had, and the winners should be proud of themselves. We hope that the prize money will make a difference and allow the schools to bring their brilliant ideas to life. These ideas will not only lead to the creation of new wonderful and rich green spaces and provide children with an excellent learning experience, but it will also contribute to their mental and physical well-being and highlight how important it is to respond to today’s climate challenge. Addressing this is one of our key priorities as the airport continues its recovery from the pandemic. We are fully focused on how this can be achieved sustainably and to help accelerate our progress towards becoming a Net Zero Carbon business by 2038, and a Net Zero Carbon industry by 2050.”
Quote from Mr Chris Jarmain, Head Teacher at St Mary’s Primary, said: “We were absolutely delighted to receive this exciting grant to create an Eco-Garden for our school, St Mary's, in Saffron Walden. This award will give our pupils the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of managing and maintaining a garden and its tools safely. It will also help the children to understand where food comes from and how to eat healthily and sustainably. This new area will boost the physical and mental wellbeing of the children as well as their resilience, allowing them to connect with nature in all weathers. Thanks to our Forest School Leader and Sports Leader, Mrs McInnes as well as our Year 6 Eco Committee for putting in all of the hard work on this incredibly important project, which will have so many benefits for our school children for years to come. A truly long-lasting legacy!”
With the large pot of money that we will be receiving, the school will be supported by the Stansted Airport Community Engagement Team to design and construct our very own Eco-Garden in the new year. How exciting! The link to the Saffron Walden Report article can be found here:https://www.saffronwaldenreporter.co.uk/news/23187881.saffron-walden-school-wins-prize-stansted-airport/
The designs were assessed by a panel which included representatives of the airport’s corporate social responsibility team and the Stansted Airport Community Trust. Various layouts were submitted, including proposals for ponds, outdoor classrooms, sensory gardens, food growing areas, and accessible green spaces. Bishop's Stortford's Hertfordshire and Essex High School, Hockeril Anglo-European College, Richard Whittington Primary School, Thorn Grove Primary School, Windhill 21 Primary School, St Mary's C of E Primary School in Saffron Walden and Great Easton Primary School are the seven schools sharing the £60,000 prize pot.