Four local schools received a
bundle of tools from St Bridget Nurseries in Exeter yesterday (20th November)
as part of a recycling project called, “Tools Shed” run by The Conservation
Foundation.
Broken and unwanted gardening
hand tools were donated by St Bridget Nurseries’ customers at their Sidmouth
Road, Clyst St Mary garden centre. The donated tools were then sent to Dartmoor
prison where they were repaired and refurbished by prisoners. The finished
tools were given away to Clyst St Mary Primary School, Lady Seaward’s Primary
School Clyst St George, WESC Foundation, St Peter’s High School Exeter at a
special presentation event held at the garden centre. Further bundles are going
to be presented to Topsham School, Sampford Peverell Primary School and Hazeldown
Primary School Teignmouth in due course.
The
tools were handed out in ‘starter packs’, a mix of eight different tools
including trowels, hand forks, spades, rakes and hand shears, by the Tools Shed
South West co-ordinator, Richard Leatherby and St Bridget Nurseries Director,
Tammy Falloon. The schools intend to use the smaller tools to help teach the
children as well as using the larger tools for grounds maintenance and green
scheme projects.
Mel
Davis, Garden Centre Manager at St Bridget Nurseries co-ordinated the company’s
participation and was delighted from the response customers – recycling at its
best. The project is ongoing so if readers have any unwanted hand tools please
drop them into the garden centre at Clyst St Mary, Exeter and they will be
recycled for further schools to benefit from the scheme.
Since
the pilot scheme with HMP Wandsworth in 2006, the project has helped hundreds
of schools and community groups create and maintain green spaces and saved many
tools from being sent to landfill. The Foundation currently works with HMPs
Dartmoor, Wandsworth, High Down, Northumberland and Edinburgh and Morton Hall
IRC in Lincolnshire. Cardiff and Parc Prisons join the scheme in November 2013.
Photo: WESC Foundation: Caroline Burkie (Fundraising & PR Manager), students Maurice, Dan, Patrick and Rhys) and staff enabler Pam.
Photo below of St Peter's High School pupils Toby Island and Caleb Bishop both age 11 in year 7 and two of their teachers, plus the Tools Shed co-ordinator Richard Leatherby.