With most of their sessions run outside, Dodleston pre-school wanted to enhance the garden area so children could join in with growing their own snacks.
They received £300 from our community fund, linked to Kings Moat Garden Village on Wrexham Road, to purchase a plastic greenhouse, a children’s potting bench, gardening equipment, compost, seeds, and plants.
Melanie Hughes, secretary of the pre-school, said: “Unless there is a weather warning in place, we operate all our sessions outdoors whether we have rain, snow, (some) wind, sunshine, hail. The children love exploring the outdoor environment and we wanted to start growing edible ingredients that the children can help to grow and then harvest to eat for their snacks.”
The children have so far planted peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, salad leaves and green beans.
Melanie continued: “The children will learn where their food comes from and how to care for plants as well as encouraging families to join in. Depending on how it all goes, we’d love to enter some offerings into the local Dodleston Show in the autumn.”The pre-school, that is run from the village hall, has been going for over 40 years. It is run as a charity and led by a committee of volunteers. Fundraising is one of the most important duties the committee does to ensure the preschool has the resources to offer a fun and educational experience for the children.
Amanda Hollins, area sales manager at Redrow NW, said: “The pre-school is a huge part of the local community in Dodleston and we wanted to give them the opportunity to expand the offering for the children and help towards purchasing the tools to teach them all about healthy eating.”
Find out more about Dodleston Preschool by visiting their website.
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