Pupils at St Andrew’s Jnr School, with Priti Patel MP in the School garden on Get Witham Growing day.
Priti wants to Get Witham Growing!
Priti Patel, the MP for Witham, has made a series of visits to local schools in her constituency for a new school’s initiative entitled ‘Get Witham Growing’. On Thursday 23rd March, she presented six schools with a ‘growing basket’ containing different types of seeds, some tools and other items to encourage pupils to cultivate plants themselves, while learning key skills and developing their own interest in horticulture.
The MP visited St Andrews Junior School, Hatfield Peverel, Woodham Walter Primary School, Great Totham Primary School, Tiptree Heath Primary School, St Luke’s Primary School, Tiptree and Stanway Five Ways Primary School.
Priti said: “Get Witham Growing will help children with the development of horticultural skills, which I know many local schools have been keen to encourage over recent years. Horticulture and gardening provide a beneficial contribution to our lives and it is important that we encourage young people to become more interested and confident in this area of their personal development.
“Growing food and plants from seeds is not only hugely beneficial to the environment, it also teaches children valuable, personal lessons through development of a wider appreciation of nature and a better understanding of the natural world.”
The Cosmos seeds provided by Priti are from one of the award-winning UK National Plant Collections grown by Jonathan Sheppard. They are both easy to grow, and hugely beneficial to pollinators and butterflies.
Any other schools that may want to be a part of Get Witham Growing should contact Priti at [email protected]
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