Dalbeattie Primary's eco committee looking for votes for pocket garden competition

Dalbeattie Primary’s eco committee is looking for support as it bids to win a national competition.

The older committee members entered Keep Scotland Beautiful's pocket garden competition earlier this year.

Their design was one of 40 shortlisted to be turned into a real garden for an online showcase, with members of the public voting for their favourites.

Dalbeattie pupils created St Edward’s Coronation Crown to focus on the theme of celebration and also covers the themes of one planet picnic and wildlife garden.

It depicts the shape and colours of a coronation crown, and to support wildlife they planted chives, nasturtiums and runner beans.

They also stocked the garden with purple violas, petunias, chives and senetti to represent the purple velvet, having filled it with peat free compost and from funds donated by local businesses including Spar and Dalbeattie Garden Centre.

To make the garden more sustainable they used an old tractor tyre, recycled log sacks and offcuts of black felt to make the fur effect.

They also used foil from Easter eggs to make the jewels and unwanted wooden log trim to make the gold band.

They used recycled seal runners from old windows to make the crown’s arms and over which they are training the runner beans and nasturtiums.

Following more advice, they also planted some poached egg plant and added this to the base of the “fur base” base of the crown. This should also attract more wildlife.

The children have thoroughly enjoyed bringing their creation to life and taking part in the competition has helped them develop their creative, planning and teamwork skills, as well as inspiring some budding gardeners among them.

They are rightfully proud of their garden and all the hard work that has gone into it.

Another big highlight for the garden was having it feature as the first location to visit on the school pupil council’s Big Help Out Event, where the focus was on volunteering and doing a good deed for the local community as well as having some fun.

And when donations from the day were presented to Dalbeattie Food Bank, it was agreed the handover would be in front of the crown.

To view the showcase and vote for Dalbeattie Primary’s entry, head to https://tinyurl.com/47v55kb6 by noon on June 19.