Ellen Tinkham students unveil new herb garden

22 July 2010

Students from Ellen Tinkham School have unveiled a new sustainable herb garden at nearby EDF Energy’s Gadeon House office in Exeter.

Head boy Emmanuel and head girl Olivia cut a red ribbon to officially open the outdoor space, which has been created and planted by EDF Energy employees at its Exeter Business Park site.

Herbs have been donated by employees while the garden itself was built from reused pallets supplied by charity Go Green Devon. The herbs will be used in the employee restaurant and there are already plans to add vegetables and fruit.

Steve Hayfield, EDF Energy’s Customer Services Director, welcomed five students from the school on Monday morning (July 19).

He said: “We are delighted that our neighbours at Ellen Tinkham School have officially unveiled our new herb garden. We have connections with the school going back many years. I know they have a very well-developed allotment and sustainable food project, so it’s fitting that they help inspire us as we start our own.”

The unveiling happened as a series of sustainable lunches at EDF Energy kicked off as part of the Big Lunch, led by the Eden Project. For three weeks, groups of employees will be sitting down to lunch to eat tasty low carbon locally-sourced food and discuss sustainable issues.

Ellen Tinkham School has its own sustainable allotment, a project which won the EDF Energy Excellence in Exeter Community Award in 2008. Students developed an area of land at the school, on Hollow Lane, to plant and grow vegetables which are sold to staff and used for conference and student lunches.

Jacqui Warne, Headteacher, said “It is an honour for our students to be asked to open this beautiful herb garden for our friends and neighbours at EDF Energy.  Our students have made a real success of our own allotment project at Ellen Tinkham School and many have thoroughly caught the ‘gardening bug’.  It is wonderful to see these little pockets of countryside appearing in the heart of the city.“

Richard Townsend, EDF Energy Account Administrator and One Planet Ambassador, has helped develop the herb garden project.

He said: “When the idea of an EDF Energy herb garden was first put forward, there was a lot of excitement and it’s great that it’s now been realised and is up and running. Anyone here can help maintain and use the herbs – it’s open to all. We’re starting off with herbs and some tomatoes but looking to expand and grow more fruit and veg for next year.”   

The Big Lunch is led by the Eden Project with the support of a family of partners including EDF Energy, Britain’s largest producer of low-carbon electricity. The Big Lunch called on all neighbourhoods and communities across the UK to come together on Sunday 18 July. This year, events took place around the nation from simple tea parties in back gardens to large street parties for the whole neighbourhood.

The Big Lunch is the finale to Team Green Britain’s summer of inspiring activities which started on Green Britain Day (17 June) and has seen people across the country getting together to help the environment, with actions including using bikes for local journeys instead of taking the car, and planting trees with local schools.

ENDS

For more information please contact Dan Pritchard, EDF Energy press officer, on 01392 813783.

Please note, parents and the school have given permission for first name use only.

Notes to editors

About EDF Energy

EDF Energy is one of the UK’s largest energy companies, producing around one-fifth of the nation's electricity from its nuclear, coal and gas power stations, as well as combined heat and power plants and wind farms. The company provides power to a quarter of the Britain’s population via its electricity distribution networks and supplies gas and electricity to more than 5.5 million business and residential customer product accounts.

EDF Energy’s safe and secure operation of its eight existing nuclear power stations at sites across the country makes it the UK’s largest generator of low carbon electricity.  EDF Energy is also leading the UK's nuclear renaissance and has published plans to build four new nuclear reactors, subject to the right investment framework. These new plants could generate enough low carbon electricity for about 40% of Britain’s homes. They would make an important contribution to the UK’s future needs for clean, secure and affordable energy. The project is already creating business and job opportunities for British companies and workers.

Through Our Sustainability Commitments, EDF Energy has launched one of the biggest environmental and social programmes of any British energy company. EDF is the official energy utilities partner and sustainability partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company is also helping its customers and others use energy more sustainably through products and initiatives such as Team Green Britain.

EDF Energy is part of EDF Group, one of Europe’s largest power companies. Following the integration with British Energy in 2009, the company employs around 20,000 people at locations across the UK.