The John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation (JTYAF) was delighted to help West Moors Middle School to buy a polytunnel for their exciting Gardening Project. 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 were clearly excited to see the launch of this fabulous initiative and eager to promote the benefits that this project would bring to their school. They presented a wonderful poem, ‘The Little Plant’ by Kate L. Brown, and then the Year 7 students expressed their feelings about the project in their own words.

“This week it is National Mental Health Awareness week with the focus on the importance of connecting with nature. There are so many health benefits associated with gardening and being outdoors! We feel incredibly lucky to have this wonderful opportunity for all of us to share and benefit.” A quote from Amy.
“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.” From Sarah.
“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.” Maddie’s words.

The JTYAF was thrilled to see the results of their funding and Pete Thornton commented. “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.”