Newport school gets Co-operative Group grant to create multi-sensory garden

GREEN-FINGERED youngsters at a Newport school will soon be able to grow their own fruit and vegetables in a purpose-build garden. The Co-operative Group is helping children at Newport Primary School learn where food comes from, and about the relationship

GREEN-FINGERED youngsters at a Newport school will soon be able to grow their own fruit and vegetables in a purpose-build garden.

The Co-operative Group is helping children at Newport Primary School learn where food comes from, and about the relationship between nutrition and health, with a �2000 community fund grant.

Friends of Newport Primary, the school's parent teacher association, will use the money to create a multi-sensory garden, where the children can learn to grow their own vegetables and soft fruits.

The garden will also house a small wooden amphitheatre with storytellers' chairs and will be wheelchair accessible.

"We are very grateful for this generous Co-operative grant," said Friends fundraiser Lindsay Baillie.

"The school playground is relatively small so this will not only extend the space in which the children can play but will offer alternative forms of play. By taking part in supervised gardening, the children will learn how food grows and how the production of food requires input from both the grower and the natural environment."

About �200,000 is available annually from The Co-operative's Community Fund to support charities and community groups in the region. Application forms are available online at www.co-operative.coop/membership/Community-Fund or by telephoning 0161 827 5879.