He is expected to complete the course three months early as a result of his hard work and dedication to his learning.
He will receive a bursary of £150 which he is planning to spend on plant irrigation equipment for his particular interest, which is plant propagation.

Connor Thompson is this year’s recipient of the Gardens Trust Brooksby Award.

Connor, who is an apprentice with Leicester City Council’s Parks and Gardens Team, attends College on day release and has made exceptional progress on his horticulture course.

He plans to spend his £150 Award on top quality gardening tools to use at work: secateurs and a saw.  

The Trust is delighted to be able to encourage and reward horticulture students in this way.

Discovering new foods in the tropical greenhouse

Searching for pond life – all pupils showing a keen interest

Extract from the thank you letter from Priscilla Jordan, Head Teacher

“Thank you to all who were involved in the trip.The year 5 class had a brilliant day and I am very grateful for the opportunities it gave them“

It was a splendid day, Ruth Godfrey worked her socks off and is an experienced and imaginative leader. We look forward to many more such visits.

Ben first discovered that he enjoyed gardening when he went on a week’s work experience in Evington Park, Leicester.  It was on the recommendation of a friend that he applied to Brooksby Melton College.  He has now been offered a place at Nottingham Trent University at their Brackenhurst Campus, to study horticulture and garden design.

Ben is clearly a worthy recipient of the award as, according to his tutors, he always goes the extra mile He plans to spend his grant money on a plant growing house to use at home.

Ben received his certificate from the Trust’s Secretary, Sue Blaxland.

The willow arch provides another sensory experience for the students, and is an extension of the sensory garden which already exists on the site. Alongside helping with the willow arch, students made a ‘habitat village’, making nests to go inside boxes which are intended for use by small rodents.

Both these activities were undertaken as part of British Science Week, which is organised by the British Science Association. It is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths, featuring activities designed to engage people of all ages across the U.K. https://www.britishscienceweek.org/. Netherhall was awarded a small grant by the British Science Association to buy glue and paint for the habitat village project. Planting the willow and creating the habitat village, as well as a whole-school activity day were the school’s contribution to British Science Week.

“It has been an utter pleasure getting to know all about LRGT and we can’t thank you enough for our lovely willow tunnel, which is growing well. Special thanks to Ann for this wonderful gesture.”

Jane Hauton
Netherhall Special School

See background to this project here.

There are many things going on in different parts of this space, including five tree areas, two wildflower meadows, and many different wildlife habitats. There is a ‘Gruffalo Trail’, with wooden carvings of characters in the story, and an orchard planted with dwarf apple, pear and cherry trees, all of which can be harvested from a wheelchair. Willow domes are a favourite place for pupils to ‘hide’ and be surrounded by the rustle of leaves. A wheelchair-friendly path leads all the way round the site, so that all pupils can access the whole space.

Netherhall’s outdoor learning space was also chosen as a site of one of the ‘Tiny Forests’ donated by Severn Trent, in partnership with Earthwatch Europe. These 72 tennis-court-sized forests, one for each nation/territory that competed in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, are intended to increase biodiversity, and the pupils will become ‘citizen scientists’, monitoring the trees for the next five years and providing data to help assess the benefits of the Tiny Forest in their area.

Last year a sensory garden was added to the field. Plants are grown in round beds, built from what Jane called ‘eco-bricks’ – which turned out to be old plastic bottles! This year, the pupils would like to develop the space by adding a willow tunnel to lead from the entrance to the sensory garden towards the outdoor learning building. Willow tunnels are interesting and calming for the pupils, as well as being an additional wildlife habitat. The pupils are planning to add straw/grass nesting boxes to the structure to encourage more wildlife. This is the project that LRGT will be supporting.

Dear Leicestershire and Rutland Gardens Trust 

I am writing to you to offer our sincere thanks for your support in our recent Sensory Garden project  at Millgate School. The project is now complete, and we would not have been able to get to this  point without your support. 

We have transformed what was once an empty area of mud into a garden, with five flower beds, two  small ponds and a seating area. The five senses have been incorporated: wind spinners and bug  hotels for sight, wind chimes for sound, herbs for smell, vegetables for taste, and textured foliage for  touch. Paths lined with bark chippings leading to a covered area with seating provides students with a place to sit and reflect. 

As you are aware, Millgate School has over 120 children aged 7-16 with social, emotional and  mental health needs. This means that many of our students have poor mental health and struggle to  regulate their emotions. We also have an increasing number of students with Autism Spectrum  Disorder, many of whom have sensory processing needs, meaning that they can easily get  overwhelmed by what’s going on around them. This project will have a lasting impact on our  students’ wellbeing, the quality of our school site and the provision we can offer our students. 

Over 30 staff and students have contributed to the project. We now have an area where our school  counsellors can work on outside therapies around gardening and nature. Further, this project has provided a work experience opportunity for students undertaking landscaping qualifications to  include in their portfolios. This project has been transformational for our school and will improve the  wellbeing of our students now and in the future. Students, staff and visitors have commented that  the school site has been drastically improved and that the garden has made far better use of the  space. We look forward to seeing the flower beds fill out and to topping up the bark chippings in the  autumn. The project will have an ongoing impact of providing our students with a space to regulate  their emotions and an outdoor learning environment for years to come. 

We would like to thank you again for your support with this project. Whether it be funding, materials  or plants, we are very grateful for your contribution and you have made a big difference to our  school. I have included a couple of photos to show the transformation, however if you should like to  arrange a visit in the autumn term to see it for yourself, we would gladly have you.  

Yours sincerely, 

Amy Large 

Assistant SENCO and Teacher of Maths 
Millgate School

Fred Mobey is the recipient of this year’s LRGT Horticultural Award. Fred has spent four years studying at Brooksby. Undecided on a definite career path, he first took a course on Countryside Management. While studying, he realised that the modules he enjoyed most were on plant life, especially trees and plant-naming. Consequently, he decided to take the National Diploma in Horticulture also offered by the college, which he has now successfully completed, adjudged the best student completing the Diploma this year.

Fred received a cheque for £100, presented by LRGT Secretary, Sue Blaxland. He has decided to spend the award on a pair of Japanese secateurs, which will no doubt come in very handy, as he is now working at Loughborough University, gaining practical experience in all aspects of horticulture. We wish him well in his chosen career.

Fiona Cownie & Mary Dunford

In the past an excellent school garden has been neglected at Glen Hills Primary School, Glen Parva. through the lack of a committed gardener and funds. However with the help of two Teaching Assistants  a small groups of students  have already begun to spend 3 sessions a week growing vegetables in raised beds. The Gardens Trust has made a small award to allow 6 raised beds to be filled with compost. The grant also pays for gardening gloves, watering cans and canes to support tomatoes.