Trawden Forest Primary School Gardening Club has WON the ‘Kids on the Plot’ category in GARDENA’s national Top of the Plots 2026 competition!
Our school garden in Trawden has been named a national winner!
Earlier this year, we entered GARDENA’s Top of the Plots competition, a nationwide celebration of the very best of the UK’s grow-your-own community. Gardeners, allotment holders, community growers and young growers from across the country were invited to share the spaces they nurture and the stories behind them.
Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine where our entry would lead!
Then came the incredible news that Huw Richards – grow-your-own expert, bestselling gardening author, GARDENA Ambassador and Head Judge of Top of the Plots – would be coming to Trawden Forest to visit our school garden in person.
And on Tuesday, that actually happened!
Huw and the GARDENA team came to Trawden to meet some of our young gardeners, explore our growing spaces and see for themselves what our children have created.
And then came the moment we will NEVER forget…
WE WERE ANNOUNCED AS THE 2026 ‘KIDS ON THE PLOT’ WINNERS!
What an achievement for our children.
This award isn’t simply about having a lovely garden. Top of the Plots celebrates the passion and purpose behind growing, with entries judged on areas including plant variety, resilience, biodiversity and maintenance.
And that is exactly what makes this award mean so much to us.
Our garden is a place where children do gardening. They sow the seeds, prick out seedlings and plant them on. They water, weed, mulch and compost. They harvest what they have grown, save seed for another year, create habitats and care for wildlife. They taste new foods, cook outdoors and see their produce used in our school kitchen. Most importantly, they learn where food comes from – by growing it themselves.
From a few pallet planters in January 2024 to polytunnels, raised beds, composting, rainwater harvesting, wildlife areas and a garden overflowing with fruit, vegetables, flowers and ideas, our growing space has developed beyond anything we could ever have imagined.
But the most important thing growing in it has always been our children.
We have watched them become knowledgeable, confident and enthusiastic young gardeners. They ask questions, solve problems, teach one another, care deeply about wildlife and experience that wonderful feeling of putting a tiny seed into the soil and eventually eating something they have grown themselves.
To have all of that recognised on a national stage by GARDENA and Huw Richards is incredibly special.
We are so, so proud of every child who has pulled on a pair of wellies, picked up a trowel, pushed a wheelbarrow, planted a seed, harvested a crop or helped care for our garden. This award belongs to every one of them.
A huge thank you to Huw Richards and the GARDENA team for travelling to Trawden, spending time with our children and giving them an experience they will remember for a very long time.
And, as always, thank you to the many people, businesses, organisations, families and members of our wonderful community who have supported our school garden along the way. So many people have helped us turn ideas into reality, and we never take that support for granted.
When we planted those first seeds, we could never have imagined where they might take us.
🏆 Apparently… all the way to the Top of the Plots! 🏆
Trawden Forest Primary School Gardening Club
GARDENA Top of the Plots 2026 – KIDS ON THE PLOT WINNERS!
We couldn’t be prouder of our young gardeners.
