Dorset school kids get ‘green fingered’ help

Children at a school in Dorset have been visited by two ‘green-fingered’ Inspectors from South West rural insurance firm Cornish Mutual, as part of the highly successful ‘Dig Down South West’ campaign.

Dorset-based Inspectors Chellie Elkington and Andy Grossey (pictured) volunteered and took time out of their busy schedules to roll up their sleeves and help children at Hayeswood First School in Wimborne to harvest some of the vegetables they have been growing and help them to tend their gardens.

Hayeswood First School was one of seven schools in Dorset to receive its own vegetable garden from the ‘Dig Down South West’ initiative, supported by Cornish Mutual. The project www.digdownsouthwest.co.uk was launched earlier this year by well-known TV gardening expert Charlie Dimmock.

Chellie Elkington from Cornish Mutual commented: “It’s fantastic to be able to visit the school and see for ourselves just how busy the children and teachers have been creating their vegetable garden. ‘Dig Down South West’ has obviously captured their imaginations and enthusiasm for gardening and it’s really nice to see the youngsters outside enjoying themselves, as part of their education. Learning about how to live a healthy lifestyle and eat well is so important at this stage of their lives and hopefully our campaign helps them to do this.”

50 vegetable gardens have been created in schools across the region, as a key part of ‘Dig Down South West’. The objective of the project is to help primary school children, between the ages of five and eight, to take an active interest in gardening and learn about the benefits of growing their own produce.

John Bagwell, head teacher at Hayeswood First School added: “This has been an excellent opportunity for the children to learn through practical experiences. They have been very responsible caring for the plants and are becoming increasingly excited by the prospect of harvesting and tasting the end product.”

Cornish Mutual is the only general insurer based in the South West and provides a broad range of insurance cover for rural communities in the region, www.cornishmutual.co.uk.

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