Students help Newport to bloom

Posted 23 June 2010

Students at Harper Adams University College are helping to transform floral displays in a Shropshire town by donating £500.

The money was raised from a variety of different charity events organised by the Students Union, through the RAG (Raise and Give) initiative, and is being donated to the Heart of England in Bloom Committee for Newport.

Eva Allen, Newport In Bloom Chairman, said: “There are four access points to Newport, each of which has a floral display box that desperately needs to be replaced.

“We applied for a grant to cover the £1000 needed to do this, but we were unsuccessful. The money from the students has been a gift from the gods and means that we can make a start on transforming the displays.”

Heart of England in Bloom is the regional element of the national Britain in Bloom competition where more than 1,000 cities, towns and villages participate each year to show off their achievements in environmental responsibility, community participation and horticulture.

Barry Pierce MBE and Eva Allen visited Harper today to officially receive the cheque from the Students Union. They hope to have the new floral planters ready by September, in preparation for next year’s entry.

Chris Manley, Student Union President, said: “We are very pleased to be supporting a local project such as this and we want to continue to be active in the local community.

“We are constantly looking for new projects to promote the students in a positive manner, and being involved with the Heart of England in Bloom campaign does exactly that."

Heart of England In Bloom now hope to collaborate with the Estates Department at the University College to devise a plan for the creation of sustainable floral displays for the region.