Education & Communities News
Explore Warmley Gardens and Grotto
Explore the Warmley gardens and grotto on a guided walk, every 2nd Sunday in the month (April to November), starting from the Museum at 2.15pm, fee £3.00 per adult. This circular walk will take approximately 90 minutes on level ground, some of which may be muddy in wet weather. Bring a torch to help you explore as you wander through the grottoes, which will be specially opened for you by your guide. For more information…
Grant for restoration of the Cascade in Bath
Avon Gardens Trust award grant towards the restoration of the Cascade in the Botanical Gardens in Royal Victoria Park, Bath The Cascade in the Botanical Gardens in Royal Victoria Park Nursery was historically supplied with fresh water that ran into the park from the golf course and the area around Camden Crescent. This source was stopped by Wessex Water when the water was found to be causing flooding to basements in Lansdown. It was later…
The Elms, Nailsea – a lost garden
Avon Gardens Trust is working closely with the Heritage Team at North Somerset Council to remove The Elms Colliery, also known as Middle Engine Pit, in Nailsea, from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register. The site is on the Register due to the risk of vandalism and further decay and the Council, who own the site, now want to restore the site so that the public can access the site. Middle Engine Pit dates to…
St John’s Church of England Primary School
The school moved to its present site in 1960 and now caters for over 240 pupils. Once known as Keynsham Parochial School, the school was founded in 1857, making it the oldest educational institution in Keynsham. In April, the school applied to the Trust for a grant towards the creation of a Spiritual Garden designed by the pupils around a Friendship Bench. Both the bench and the gardens were in memory of a former pupil…
IntoUniversity
IntoUniversity is based at The Withywood Centre in South Bristol where they work with a range of schools to support students with their education. One of the most effective programs run is the Academic Support afterschool club held on Tuesdays and Wednesday for primary school pupils. Their application was for a tumbling composter which besides helping to tidy up the site would also help enrich the soil. The Trust was delighted to award £100 to…
Primary School Grants in 2018
Primary School Grants in 2018 This year, Avon Gardens Trust has been delighted to award four grants totalling £700 to schools in our area – two in South Gloucestershire, one in Bristol and one in Bath and North East Somerset. Although we usually encourage grant applications from primary schools only, this year we made an exception as we were so impressed by the achievements of a secondary school in our area.
Tortworth Forest Centre
TORTWORTH FOREST CENTRE – AN UPDATE Grey clouds for their April Open Day did not deter families, especially those with young children, from coming out to enjoy the space. Space with activities, forest trails, the goats to talk to and a big cook pot with a delicious stew cooking on the camp fire. Rebecca Cork and her helpers had put together a fun day. Dating from the 1890s Tortworth it is an important heritage site….
Blaise Community Garden
Blaise Community Garden Avon Gardens Trust has made an award of £1,200 to help with the restoration of a Victorian greenhouse in Blaise Community Garden. This walled garden was originally the garden for Blaise House but since then had been used by several organisations including Bristol City Council to grow bedding plants and Cannington College teach students about horticulture. For ten years, the garden was in disuse but in 2013, the Friends of Blaise and…
Page Park Drinking Fountain
The Drinking Fountain in Page Park The Trust has recently made an award of £1,000 towards the restoration of this Edwardian drinking fountain. Situated in the Staple Hill area of Bristol, nineteen acres of land for a public park was donated in 1910 by Arthur William Page, a local solicitor. In the last few years, with help from South Gloucestershire Council, the Big Lottery Fund, and the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Friends of Page Park…
Primary School Grants in 2017
This year, Avon Gardens Trust made a donation to Culverhill School, a special school in Yate that caters for 135 pupils with ages ranging from 7 to 16 years. As the pupils at the school have complex learning difficulties, tasks are broken down into small steps with lots of visual and tactile clues. As part of this learning process, the school wanted to build raised accessible beds so pupils could take part in the growing…
AGT Supports Downend School Garden Project
A vital part of AGT’s vision is to encourage future generations to enjoy and participate in gardening. What better opportunity than to support school gardening projects. “This project has helped me understand plants and the conditions they grow in.” Avon Gardens Trust will be making an award of £250 to Downend School in South Gloucestershire to help pupils purchase materials and plants for a garden they have designed themselves. The school, a co-educational secondary school…
Dry Arch Growers – September 2017
In January 2015 Dry Arch Growers in Bathampton planted fifty apple trees and we were delighted to have donated many of them. Move on to September 2017 and their first fruits are ripening. The reward for all their careful nurturing. It was in 2011 Dry Arch Growers set up their weekly vegetable box scheme. Six years later in March this year the cooperative took the decision to change their operating mode. They began the process…