The Conservation Foundation’s Tools Shed will be holding a garden tool giveaway at the Eden Project on 3 April organised by the project’s new regional organiser, Kevin Marsh. Any schools and community gardens that would like to receive free refurbished garden hand tools are invited to register their interest on The Conservation Foundation’s website https://conservationfoundation.co.uk/projects/tools/
Tools Shed is a successful tool recycling project, which repairs broken and unwanted garden tools in prisons and has been running in the South West following its launch at the Eden Project in 2011.
Since then thousands of broken tools collected at garden centres, horticultural projects and recycling centres in the region have been refurbished at Dartmoor Prison’s Tools Shed workshop before being given away free to schools and community groups
An Eden Project spokesperson explained, “We were Tools Shed’s first collection point in the South West. We met at the Chelsea Flower Show where refurbished tools were used in the creation of the Eden Project show garden and since then have been delighted to host some great giveaways and to help promote the project.”
Regional organiser Kevin Marsh said, “I am very excited to be involved with Tools Shed. It’s great to see unwanted tools being given a new lease of life and then going to worthwhile causes rather to landfill. As someone who is also involved with a community garden project, I know how useful it is to be able to access free garden tools. Many schools and community projects simply do not have the funds to buy them. This is where Tools Shed really can make a difference.”
HMP Dartmoor is one of five English prisons in the Tools Shed project which is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
PICTURE SHOWS KEVIN MARSH WITH KAREN DAWKINS OF THE EDEN PROJECT
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NOTES FOR EDITORS: Founded in 1982, The Conservation Foundation creates and manages environmental projects, award schemes, awareness campaigns, publications and events covering wide ranging issues and aimed at different and diverse audiences. www.conservationfoundation.co.uk
The Eden Project, an education charity, connects us with each other and the living world, exploring how we can work towards a better future. www.edenproject.com