Youngsters make their Mark in the garden
There could only be one winner of the Wigan Observer's Be Green and Grow competition and that was St Mark's CE Primary School.
The promotion, which was available to all primary schools across Wigan, was run by the Observer and Golden Days Garden Centre and encouraged schoolchildren to take care of their environment and themselves.
The campaign got children growing their own fruit and vegetables, planting trees, building wildlife gardens, enjoying the great outdoors and doing their bit to help prevent global warming.
Mrs Karen Long, teaching assistant at St Mark's, in Newtown, said: "Winning the Be Green and Grow promotion was great because it fitted in with what we are doing at the school anyway.
"By June we aim to become a self-sustainable school.
"We grow our own vegetables, recycle and even have an energy team of pupils who read the meters and monitor the amount of energy we use."
The prizes for the winning school included an environmental workshop at the school from SCriB, a wildlife garden from Pets at Home, 300 voucher from Golden Days Garden Centre, a 100 voucher from Sainsburys and a robi strimmer from Cornthwaites.
Mrs Long said: "The children really enjoy getting their hands dirty and we've even had some children telling us that they were putting the green skills they learnt at school into practice at home, which is great."
Mrs Long continued: "We have just received funding from Faith4Change to turn some land at the back of the school into allotments to give us more space to grow fruit and veg."
There was also a prize of 250 from the home improvement company Tudor Rose available for the school that were runners- up, which went to Wrightington Mossy Lea Primary School, Wrightington.
Mrs Brenda Levy, science and RE teacher at the school, said: "We were absolutely delighted to come runners-up.
"We never thought we could get this far because we are such a small school with only 49 pupils. But the children are over the moon.
"They haven't decided what they want to spend the money on yet, but it will definitely go to something outside."
Mrs Levy added: "We are planting sunflowers and we also have a vegetable area where we grow lettuces, green beans and potatoes.
"Last year we had so many potatoes that the children were able to take home five each."
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Weather for Wigan
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light sleet
Temperature: 1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 6 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light sleet
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
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