Rydal Penrhos Prep pupils marked Plant and Share Month with a range of activities, including a Gardening Club visit to Merton Place.

Rydal Penrhos Prep has recently taken part in an initiative called Plant and Share Month run by Food for Life Get Togethers (a Soil Association programme), which aims to encourage everyone to grow produce and share it with their community, school, friends, and family.

There were different themes for each week of Plant and Share Month, and as part of the first week’s theme of ‘Growing for All’, Rydal Penrhos pupils in Year 1 and 2 made Coronation Pots of Kindness to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles. They planted sunflower seeds and decorated their pots to share with their family.

Gardening Club completed different activities to support the further themes of ‘Growing to Eat’, ‘Growing for Joy’ and ‘Growing for Nature’. For example, to focus on how to grow easy food, they created two tiered planters using old tyres and plant pots, which they planted up with strawberry plants they had grown in the Advent Term from runners. They also planted potatoes in a raised bed and planted out tomatoes, lettuce plants and runner beans grown from seed.

To encourage important pollinating insects and create a habitat for wildlife, the children extended their current wildflower area of ox-eye daisies by clearing a small patch of grass to sow wildflower seeds, and allowing the banked area of grass to grow unmown.

Our Eco Committee were also involved in Plant and Share Month by raising awareness of the importance of bees to celebrate World Bee Day, making posters and sharing facts with their class.

To complete our Plant and Share Month activities, the pupils in Gardening Club enjoyed a visit to Merton Place, the local Residential Care Home in Colwyn Bay, to deliver Pots of Kindness to the residents, which they had grown during Week 1 of Plant and Share Month. The children enjoyed chatting to the residents, explaining which kinds of plants they had brought and hearing the residents’ stories of their own gardening experiences. The children ended the visit by seeing the outside garden area and arranging their plants in the raised bed ready for replanting by the staff.

Thank you to all the pupils, teachers and staff involved in all these fantastic Plant and Share Month activities. Another great example of Rydal Penrhos’ commitment to sustainability and the natural environment!