Welton Free Rangers Forest Nursery School in Somerset has won gold in the Royal Forestry Society (RFS) Excellence Awards with a project that allowed children and young people to enjoy the natural environment in a non-damaging way.
The nursery competed with seven other schools from Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. Its project reached out to involve the local community with 'big dig days' where parents and children planted over 500 trees and a new hedge.
The nursery will use its £1,000 prize money to buy species of apple tree that are nearly extinct for an orchard project that will allow children to enjoy fresh apple juice.
