A WOKINGHAM school is helping feed its village while promoting environmental consciousness.
Over the past two weeks, children from Shinfield St Mary’s Junior School have donated potatoes and eggs harvested on-site to nearby food banks.
The eggs were accompanied by a poster made by student Noah, which said: ‘These eggs were laid by the hens of Shinfield Junior School.’
Head of sustainability and ecology Matthew Knight, said: “We have quite a lot of activity going on here at the moment. We’ve just donated 2 types of potatoes that we grew and harvested on site.
“The children are taught a range of ecology and sustainability skills on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings with me.
“We grow many different plants and vegetables and donate any produce to local food banks, such as Shinfield and Spencer Wood Helping Hands.”
The school offers a dedicated ecology program, with students carrying out activities to help the environment.
There are currently 150 fruit tree saplings and 50 native tree species on-site, which will be shared with local schools and community groups in the autumn.
This project will be supported by local tree charity Freely Fruity, of which Mr Knight is also a co-founder.
Combining the efforts of the charity and school has allowed more schools to grow their own fruit on-site.
In conjunction with WCGP (Wokingham Community Garden Projects) and Freely Fruity, St Mary’s has also donated several tomato, squash, pumpkin and strawberry plants to the community gardens located at Emmanuel Church and the Rainbow Community Centre.
“It’s great for the school and its children to be involved with such amazing charitable work,” Mr Knight said.
“They learn far more than how to grow their own produce; they learn how to be a valued member of the community.”
