GREEN-fingered children at Witley’s Barrow Hill School’s nursery and reception classes have discovered that learning about growing plants is fun.

The young botanists took part in a nursery garden project at the school in a joint venture with a garden centre putting their green fingers to the test, planting seeds, seeing how they grow and making their own special garden at the school.

In conjunction with Squires Garden Centre, at Milford, children filled planters with a variety of flowers, tomatoes and herbs. Geraniums and nemesia provided colour and scent and the herbs and tomatoes added a culinary educational value to the project.

Thanking Squires Garden Centre manager Ricky Bowness, who masterminded the project, Barrow Hills nursery assistant Cordelia John said: “Encouraging interest in gardening from an early age helps children learn the benefits of completing a task, as evidence of their hard work unfolds before their eyes.

“It’s a great way to promote hands-on learning, helping them to start to understand about environmental responsibility and to explore the workings of nature.”