Worksop school unveils community remembrance garden

The St John’s C of E Academy in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, received £1,000 through the Tesco blue token scheme, which they were keen to spend on the creation of a community remembrance garden.

One of the pupils designed the garden, and the team at Notcutts Dukeries Garden Centre in Worksop helped bring the plans to life with advice on plants and in digging and planting on the day.

The garden now offers a space where everyone and everything can be remembered. Children use the space for reflection and to remember relatives and friends they haven’t seen for a while, as well as pets and others who have passed away.

Linda Foy, Nursery Practitioner at St John’s C of E Academy said: “The remembrance garden has brought the whole community together and the children love to visit the space for quiet reflection. We are especially pleased to see our topiary ‘War Horse’ now has new legs thanks to Andrew and the team at Notcutts Dukeries.”

Andrew Rawson, Notcutts Dukeries Garden Centre Manager said: “We are pleased to support a local school with this wonderful initiative and we have enjoyed working with the children to create such a fabulous garden together, despite the heavy rain and getting very muddy in the process!”

The garden has recently received a blessing from the local Rev Lima and the school celebrated with the local community by cooking pizzas on their new pizza oven.