Schoolboys awarded in Blind Gardener of the Year contest
A PAIR of teenage gardeners have overcome huge challenges to be rewarded for their skills in a national competition.
Liam Flemming, 14, and Cory Stubbs, 13, took joint third place in the Blind Gardener of the Year competition.
Liam, who is partially sighted and has severe epilepsy, and Cory, who is blind and has attention deficit disorder, gained confidence in their skills in the Wildlife Conservation Area at Gawthorpe's Highfield School.
They worked alongside their sighted peers to create beds of plants and shrubs to attract declining species of insects to the garden at the Highfield Lane school.
And they also made log piles, insect chalets, hedgehog houses and put up bird boxes to encourage wildlife to the garden.
Lesley-Anne Alexander, chief executive of the Royal National Institute for the Blind, said: "We were so impressed with how the winners dealt with the challenges they face, their achievements and their passion for gardening. Losing your sight doesn't mean losing your ability to take part in gardening as well as many other activities."
Liam and Cory recieved their awards at a ceremony in London from judges from the RNIB and Thrive, a charity which improves the lives of disabled people through gardening. The competition focused on sustainable gardening and healthy lifestyles and was open to all blind and partially sighted gardeners.
Liam and Cory said they hoped to harvest vegetables from the garden for cooking in future.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Wakefield
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Heavy snow
Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: West
