Everyone at AceOn is thrilled to hear that the Sir Alexander Fleming Primary School in Telford has been crowned the Royal Horticultural Society‘s Best School Gardening Team of the Year 2023.
The youngsters have been getting their hands dirty in the school garden and polytunnel – for which AceOn supplied two solar-powered water pumps, an 80-watt solar panel and all the hoses and controllers for the project.
We also installed all our kit for free so that the school and the children could learn a bit about sustainability whilst they were getting to grips with the garden.
RHS judges were clearly bowled over by the school’s efforts and commented: “With hard work, commitment and endless enthusiasm, teacher John Ratcliffe, colleagues and the children have transformed their outdoor space into a diverse, beautiful garden with a no-dig wildlife meadow, future forest, bog garden, raised beds and wild corners.”
Outdoor learning teacher, John Ratcliffe, said: “It was such a shock to receive the news, but is a wonderful reflection of the hard work, commitment and enthusiasm the children have put into this, launching themselves with huge smiles at every challenge.
“During lockdown, we took the opportunity to clear the garden and asked Amy and James at AceOn to jump onboard with our project to help with an off-grid solar irrigation Polytunnel. It has really inspired us to raise our ambitions and exposed the children to irrigation techniques – as well as the technology used to run and monitor it. Being renewable energy, it also promotes the importance of using these energy sources, allowing the children to see how they work first-hand.”
AceOn group managing director Mark Thompson said: “This is a really fantastic achievement and we couldn’t be more delighted for the school and children.
“It is great that they have embraced environmentally-friendly technology and we were really pleased to help them out with the solar powered pumps and equipment.
“Not only are they learning the value of growing their own food, but they are also learning how to protect our planet for generations to come.”
