£9,000 injects life into school garden (From Thisisdorset)

£9,000 injects life into school garden

4:30pm Saturday 2nd March 2013 in Latest By Catherine Bolado

A WEYMOUTH primary school has received £8,750 to bring power and water to its garden.

Children at Holy Trinity Primary School in Cross Road will benefit from mains water for hand washing and hot drink making facilities, while elderly residents at Highclere House residential home next door will get to benefit from the school’s garden.

When the home is complete and open, residents will be able to use the garden out of school hours, in the summer holidays and at weekends.

The mutual arrangement between Gracewell Healthcare, the firm behind Highclere House and the school, has been welcomed on both sides. Gracewell Healthcare chief executive Peter Curtis handed over a cheque for the money to school governor Helen Toft surrounded by students in the garden – Highclere House provided the back drop.

Mrs Toft said she was delighted that Gracewell wanted to continue their partnership with the school.

She said: “This is a very generous donation which means that there will be clean water in the garden for hand washing for the children and along with the electricity will allow us to be able to make hot drinks for parents and supporters when they are working in the garden.”

The school’s eco-garden has eight water butts so the school says it will not need to use the mains water supply to the garden unless in ‘extreme circumstances.’ Mrs Toft added that having the residents of the home as the ‘guardians of the garden’ would be extra eyes on the garden when the children were not in school.

She said: “We hope that the partnership with the staff and residents of Highclere House will be a long and mutually beneficial one and that they will enjoy our garden as much as we do.”

The 70-bed £7million house will open in April and will feature a hair and beauty spa, a nail bar, a cafe, a library and WiFi access.

Mr Curtis said he was delighted to be able to make the donation to the school and wanted the house to be an ‘absolutely integral’ part of the community.

He said: “This is really wonderful for both the school and our new care home.

“The children will be able to get so much more out of the garden and our residents will love to be able to have a space where they can go to relax and enjoy the atmosphere.”

He added: “I firmly hope this is just the latest activity in a long and beneficial partnership with Holy Trinity.

“Children and older people can learn so much form one another and truly enrich each other’s lives.”