Go Green Gorillas

A team of Year 8 students from Corbridge Middle School called the Go Green Gorillas aim to encourage other schools to start school gardening & promote biodiversity. They won the Young Green Briton Challenge (https://www.volunteersforfuture.org/ygbc) in June 2023 with their enthusiasm and ideas to get more children outside growing their own food. The team produced and sold hundreds of wildflower seed packs and created bespoke grow-your-own-meal sets that led to their win. The young green entrepreneurs also set up a wormery in the school garden, rebounded after their poly tunnel was vandalised, developed a huge range of skills and had an immense amount of fun in the process.

With the help of their teacher Dr Meryl Batchelder, the team have now raised over £1,700 from prize winnings received from the Green Britain Foundation and EdenTree, and via organised plant sales in school. They are using the funding to reach more schools and to promote the National Education Nature Park programme which is being led by the Natural History Museum and the RHS.

Although there is some central Department of Education funding for a small percentage of seriously deprived schools most schools will receive no financial or tangible help – the Go Green Gorillas aim to assist at least 16 schools in our region of the North East that might not be eligible for central funding but could still do with materials to improve nature and set them on a journey to grow their own food.

They are planning to send out a book on school gardening, seed packets, instructions and a voucher for compost, tools or gloves to 16 schools - the kits are worth around £100 in total.

“The book the team has selected is the 'Rewilding Manual for Schools' by Lesley Malpas. Operation Future Hope offers a Nature and Rewilding Course for Schools alongside the  Rewilding Manual for Schools which is a year long, self-paced online course that helps prepare young people to transition into a future role of becoming Earth stewards and protectors of the natural world - this might really help teachers and pupils on their journey to improve biodiversity on their school estate.”

The Go Green Gorillas are growing up on a rapidly changing planet, but have a passion for being changemakers to make the world a better place. They have unbridled energy and enthusiasm. Dr Batchelder hopes that, by doing something incredibly charitable at such an early age, they will carry this attitude with them through life.

Huge thanks to Social Innovation for All, Volunteers for Future, The Green Briton Foundation and the Ministry of Eco Education for helping to develop the knowledge and skills for sustainable futures with these young, green entrepreneurs.