Get to know: Haskin’s Sophie Menjou – Sunday Mirror
Sophie Menjou
Haskins Garden Centre
Working with Cultivation Street
Being part of Cultivation Street has helped us make people in our local community more aware of how we can help them with any school projects they have.
I really enjoy the fact that I get to help children learn a little bit more about gardening and provide items they can use at the school and seeds they can plant and grow themselves. Children are the next generation of gardeners and I love seeing how excited they get over the plants and what they have grown themselves. It adds something different to my job role and I love hearing the stories from the children about how they look after the plants.
One of the organisations I work closely with is Durley Nursery. Their children really benefit from being in their outside space. They love finding out about the natural world and are so inquisitive at this age. Finding worms, digging and planting, watching seedlings appear are all so exciting to them and so much learning happens whilst they are exploring.
Handing out the Calliope geraniums
The schools have been extremely grateful for the plants and can't wait to get them planting with the children.
I am currently working with Durley nursey, Beechwood school, Thornhill school and Ludlow junior school. I initially linked with them for the Cultivation Street campaign, but as they are local to Haskins we can carry on visiting them and get updates on how they are doing.
The Calliope geraniums we received through the 15,000 plant giveaway enabled the children to learn about parts of a plant. The children have already started planting them, looking at the roots and how they think the plants will grow. They noticed the lovely smell of the leaves and are guessing what colours the flowers will be. The children have promised to keep them well watered!
We are looking forward to seeing their entries to Calliope My life!
Published in the Sunday Mirror
This year’s Cultivation Street campaign has seen 15,000 Calliope® plug plants being dispatched out to schools and community groups across the UK. We have to say a massive thank you to the incredible UK garden centre staff who have gone above and beyond to get the geraniums to these 1,250 organisations. Since their dispatch, stories have been pouring in of how these ambassadors have potted on the plug plants and tended them until the schools and communities were ready to collect!
One garden centre ambassador who has enjoyed handing out the geraniums to her local schools and communities is Sophie Menjou from Haskins garden centre. Sophie has seen first-hand how these colourful plants have helped local children engage with the natural world, “The schools have been extremely grateful for the Calliope geraniums and couldn’t wait to get planting! We supported the children in planting the plug plants and it was a great opportunity to encourage them to look at the roots and discuss how they think the plants will grow. They enjoyed smelling the leaves and each took at turn at guessing what colour the flowers will be. The children have promised to keep them well watered!”
Sophie goes on to explain to us how being part of the Cultivation Street campaign has helped her interact with her local community, “ By being part of the campaign, we’ve been able to make people in the community more aware of the help that’s available for their school projects. I personally enjoy the fact that I get to help children learn a little bit more about gardening with plants they can grow themselves.”
To find out more about how Cultivation Street encourages and supports school gardening, visit cultivationstreet.com
Join us each week!
We will be releasing a blog each week to tell your stories.
If you have something you think would be perfect for us to shout about, please email us at [email protected] and tell us all about it!
(Please note that any story we feature will need to be accompanied by at least one photograph of 1MB or above).