Case Study - Cargill
Bronze Award Winner of 2011 Community Partnership Awards: Local community
Planting Seeds for the Future with the Gardens in Schools Project
Although many schools in the Manchester area wanted to
teach their pupils about the importance of the environment
and nature, a signifi cant number lacked the facilities, such as a
garden, to do so.
As part of its commitment to the community, Cargill worked
with the Salford Foundation, which specialises in developing
links between business and schools, to develop a schools
garden competition.
Cargill provided £100 grants plus gardening
tools to each school entering the competition and challenged
them to create their own garden area. Ten schools took part
in the initial competition in 2009 and this has now risen to 25
across Manchester and Runcorn where Cargill sites are based.
The prize for the winning school is £500 and £250 each for
two runners up. The winners were not the 'best' gardens as
everyone had entered at a different stage, but the school that
had achieved the most.
Cargill has also worked to support the schools taking part, and
last year committed a further £5000 for an extension to a
garden in one particular area where there is signifi cant deprivation.
The company has also developed a partnership with the
Wetland and Wildfowl Trust (WWT) and it is hoped to incorporate
visits to the WWT's Martin Mere centre into the competition.
More Information
View all the winning Community Partnership Awards case studies (2011)