SCHOOLS across West Somerset are being invited to apply for grants for projects where pupils are involved in every stage of creating or enhancing a garden.

Somerset Gardens Trust (SGT), a conservation and education charity which promotes education on the art of garden landscapes and helps to protect designed landscapes, is offering support up to £400.

The charity last year allocated £10,000 for the grants, with Cutcombe First School, in Wheddon Cross, among the successful applicants.

Cutcombe used the grant to buy child-size garden tools as pupils learned the process of growing and looking after vegetables and flowers in the school garden.

The activities helped their social skills through teamwork and collaboration.

SGT chairman Diana Hebditch said the charity had been delighted with the interest shown in its schools grants scheme and was looking forward to receiving ‘a bumper crop’ of applications before it deadline of May 14.

Any school unable to meet the deadline should be able to try again later, as SGT makes grants three times a year if funds permit.

Ms Hebditch said: “If the county’s rich heritage of parks, gardens, and designed landscapes is to survive, it will need the support and appreciation of the next generation, so it is wonderful to be able to foster this interest through funding school garden projects.”

Previous SCT grants for schools have supported a variety of projects, including creating vegetable beds and sensory gardens, planting schemes, and pond clearance.

The trust’s education committee, which considers applications, also encourages the involvement in projects of parents and the wider community, such as local garden club or allotment group, where possible.

Schools can ask for more information about this year’s grants and request an application form by sending an email to [email protected] or apply online.