Nursery children to take on Olympic-inspired gardening project (From Essex County Standard)

Nursery children to take on Olympic-inspired gardening project

4:30pm Sunday 15th April 2012 in News

GREEN-FINGERED youngsters plan to spruce up the garden of their nursery in the build-up to London 2012.

The idea of transforming the vegetable patch at the front of Tiggywinkles Nursery, in Granger Avenue, Maldon, into an Olympic shrine has not only seen manager James Haskey-Jones named one of the Games’ local leaders, but will also form the central aspect of the nursery’s annual Maldon In Bloom entry.

Mr Haskey-Jones said: “The Olympic organising committee have got something called Gardening for the Games.

“We’ve managed to get five old tyres from garages and we are going to paint those all up in the colours of the Olympic rings and fill them with flowers.

“We’ve also got a mannequin that we will dress up and we are going to make our own hollow Olympic torch that we can fill with flowers and stuff like that.”

Mr Haskey-Jones, who believes the Olympic ideals tie in perfectly with the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, hopes the children will be in a position to begin planting in three to four weeks once the risk of frosty weather subsides.

In the lead-up to the Olympics, youngsters at the nursery, which has been selected by Essex Legacy as one of eight pre-schools in the county to be ambassadors for the Games, will also take part in a mini Olympics of their own on the playing fields at Plume School.