Green fingered pupils at West Moors Middle School are now able to hone their gardening skills thanks to a donation from The John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation (JYTAF).

The Ferndown-based charity has bought a polytunnel for their gardening project and the recent opening ceremony gave the students the opportunity to thank the JTYAF and the Ferndown and Parley Rotary Club who also helped to make this project possible by funding the raised beds.

The children presented a poem, ‘The Little Plant’ by Kate L Brown, and Year 7 students expressed their feelings about the project in their own words.

One pupil Sarah said: “The polytunnel and raised beds help us to focus on the gardening tasks whether it’s potting, weeding, pruning, watering, harvesting or chopping, rather than worry about the pandemic or spend too long on technology. This project will help us to ‘live in the moment’, respect nature and our environment, and not take so many things for granted. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”

Another, Maddie, said: “We want to thank the kindness and generosity of The John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation and the Ferndown and Parley Rotary Club who helped to make this project possible to support us. We also want to thank our governors, Mr Brooks and Mr Cox, our caretaker, Mr Mein and all the staff and their families who spent their time constructing this wonderful Eco area. We can’t wait to use the fruit and vegetables that we grow in cookery lessons, developing life skills that will stand us in good stead in the future.”

Pete Thornton, chairman of JYTAF said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the emotional health and wellbeing of our young people and we are proud to support this project.  The mental health benefits of regular gardening are proven and will provide a fabulous positive focus for the children.”