Ahead of National Children's Gardening Week, 26 May to 3 June 2018, the Stewart Garden Schools programme is making a last call for primary schools interested in taking on gardening projects as their 6 July deadline for applications looms.

The competition gives children and teachers an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of green space, communal working and growing plants to support their understanding of the world. 

New data released ahead of National Children's Gardening Week shows 94% of primary school leaders believe that school gardening benefits pupils' health and wellbeing. Something Stewart Garden have been strongly promoting over the past seven years. The research stated that children with access to decent green space are predicted to be 24% more likely to be active. Research also shows a strong connection for children between feeling happy and feeling connected with the natural world.  

The Stewart Garden Schools programme, now in its seventh year, is open to schools all over the UK for primary school children aged between six and eleven.

Stewart Garden issued a pack to schools at the beginning of the year, inviting those that wish to participate to imagine a creative gardening project of their choice, and submit the results to judges. The successful idea wins £1,000 of garden centre vouchers. The three runner-up schools win vouchers for £100 each.

The research stated that only a third of the UK's 5.5 million primary school children currently have the opportunity to get involved in school gardening. And thanks to falling budgets, schools can contribute just 33p to spend per pupil on this kind of activity. 

Alan Slack, marketing manager at Stewart said, "We think school gardening has an important role in supporting children to work towards a common goal with their classmates. It helps them to break down many barriers to social interaction and has a really valuable contribution to the school environment. We're very excited to be again running this programme when we know schools may not be able to fund gardening themselves and look forward to receiving the entries."

National Children's Gardening Week is an annual event packed with free activities to develop children's learning, creative and social skills. This year the RHS Chelsea Flower Show will be getting in on the action, showing an exhibit with ideas and examples for children's gardening in ‘The Great Escape' exhibit inside the Discovery Zone of the Great Pavilion.

Stewart Garden is now a proud member of the Keter family, giving them access to the larger group's significant technical expertise. They also benefit from the resources of the market leader in quality plastic home and outdoor storage solutions - which promises exciting developments for the Stewart brand in future years.

For more information about National Children's Gardening Week please click here