Berkshire school’s bee-friendly garden wins top award

A West Berkshire primary school’s bee-friendly garden has won the Dorothy Morley Conservation Award 2024 from CPRE Berkshire.

Pupils from Curridge Primary School, Thatcham, were presented with their Award by Christina Hill Williams, His Majesty’s Deputy-Lieutenant for Berkshire, and Greg Wilkinson, Chairman of CPRE Berkshire, at a ceremony in Englefield this week.

Their bee-friendly garden, which was created on a barren piece of land near the school, won First Prize in CPRE’s annual competition for the best school environmental project. Pupils researched bee-friendly plants before starting work on the garden, and since establishing it have been busy observing the bees that visit and recording the results of their observations.

The school has also been presented with £1,000 prize money by CPRE. The Awards scheme was set up by the Berkshire branch of the countryside charity, together with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), in honour of local conservationist Dorothy Morley who was a dedicated member of CPRE and BBOWT for many years.

Second Prize in this year’s competition was shared by two schools: Brookfields in Tilehurst near Reading and the Queen Anne Royal Free First School in Windsor.

Brookfields, a specialist school for children with Special Educational Needs, won its prize of £500 for its market garden project, in which pupils have been growing and selling their own vegetables to the local community.

Queen Anne Royal Free First School also won £500, for its innovative forest project creating a series of themed gardens – a woodland garden, a forest garden, a bamboo forest, and a ‘lost garden’ – together with a pond and planters.

Teachers and pupils from each of these schools attended the Awards ceremony at Englefield Village Hall, where they were congratulated on their conservation work by Trustees of CPRE Berkshire and received their prizes from Christina Hill Williams DL, the charity’s Vice-President.

Teachers from all three schools said they hoped the Dorothy Morley Conservation Award scheme would help to encourage long-term collaboration between Berkshire schools and local communities on projects for environmental conservation.

Judith Street, Head Teacher of Queen Anne Royal Free First School, said: “We feel most privileged to receive the Award. The money will be used to provide a programme of outdoor learning sessions for all of our classes throughout the year.”

She added: “We all thoroughly enjoyed the Awards event. It was lovely to hear about the work of the two other local schools. We plan to make contact with the other schools regarding our plans for bees and edible gardens.”

Established in 1926 (and celebrating its centenary in two years’ time), CPRE Berkshire exists to protect, promote and enhance the countryside and natural environment of the Royal County. The National Patron of CPRE is His Majesty The King.

-ENDS