Paignton Zoo Sponsors Grow Up Promote Gardening to Children

By Philip Knowling 

Paignton, UK - Paignton Zoo has designs on greener school gardens

Devon education bodies are creating a sustainable school garden for this year’s Devon County Show.

‘The Sunshine Garden’ is a partnership between Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, a botanical as well as a zoological garden, and NPS South West Ltd., who look after land at most of Devon’s schools, and is being supported by the Western Morning News.

The partners are also launching Grow Up!, a competition for primary schools to design their own sustainable garden. Schools can enter at the Devon County Show or online at www.growupdevon.co.uk.

Paignton Zoo Curator of Plants and Gardens Kevin Frediani said: “The theme of the show this year is sunny Devon, so we have based our design on a rising sun. We want to promote gardening to children who are not currently in touch with the natural world around them – and to show just how sustainable a school garden could be.”

The six metre square garden is being created by Kevin Frediani and garden designer Pamela Morris and built by the Paignton Zoo gardens team. After the show the Sunshine Garden will be recreated outside the Paignton Zoo education centre so that children and their teachers can be inspired to make a garden of their own when visiting. It will be completed in autumn 2009 using all the main features of the show garden.

The garden draws parallels between sustainable horticulture for animals and people, using the themes of food, shelter, water and fuel. It features fruit trees including apple, cherry and plum and wild flowers commonly seen in Devon. There is also a wide selection of vegetables and herbs that Paignton Zoo grows for the environmental enrichment of animals, including lettuce, leaf beet, lavender and giant stipa grass.

The project recycles wooden crates and features a wildflower turf path, a compost bin for recycling waste, locally-made hurdles and a log pile and a pond for wildlife. The centerpiece is a bench made from an oak tree blown down in the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Clennon Valley nature reserve. The bench has been made by Ashburton woodworker and photographer Sean Hellman.

Kevin Frediani won a silver gilt medal at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2003 for his London Zoo gorilla garden. Paignton Zoo has won silver gilt, bronze and gold medals in previous Devon County Shows.

Amanda Brent, a Director of NPS Group’s Exeter office, said: “It has been absolutely amazing to see Grow Up! blossom. The initial concept could not have been developed to this extent without our partners at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park.  The Devon County Show garden design demonstrates how much can be achieved in a small space, to create a sustainable haven utilising plants for food, shelter and fuel, whilst encouraging wildlife. I hope this will inspire Devon’s primary school children to enter our competition and to discover what fun gardening can be.”

Kevin: “We are entering the garden into the Devon County Show because it is the ideal platform for this sort of education project – schools and families have a great day out at the show, year in, year out. It’s also in support of Devon County Council’s aspiration to make Devon the greenest county in Britain.”

The winning school’s design in the Grow Up! competition will be entered into next year’s Devon County Show and built at the school. The competition judges will be led by TV gardener Toby Buckland, presenter of BBC Gardener’s World.

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is a registered charity. For more information go to www.paigntonzoo.org.uk or ring (01803) 697500.

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is a registered charity. Registered office: Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, Totnes Road, Paignton, Devon TQ4 7EU. Registration number 792877. Registered charity number 300923. Place of incorporation: Companies House, Cardiff.

To view Paignton Zoo’s web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-783-Paignton_Zoo_Environmental_Park