A COUNTY Durham construction group’s charity is encouraging schoolchildren to improve their environment.

Esh Group, based in Bowburn, County Durham, has given £1,000 each to 20 schools in the North-East and North Yorkshire region.

The money for the Grow with Esh scheme, aimed at helping pupils develop gardening projects, comes from the Esh Charitable Trust.

The £1,000 will be used during the course of the summer to set up and develop projects to compete for prizes totalling £5,000.

All primary schools throughout the region were invited to send in ideas for a project in which students tackle some form of horticultural cultivation and improve an outdoor area near to or connected with their school.

The judges of the extra £5,000 prize money, which will be announced later this year, will be looking for projects involving the community as well as providing excellent classroom learning and highlighting issues such as healthy eating and entrepreneurship.

Jack Lumsden, a trustee of the Esh Charitable Trust, said: “Every school we’ve selected gets £1,000 to use on their scheme – after that it’s down to them.

“To stand a chance of winning any of the £5,000 prize money they’ll have to work hard.

“We’re looking for ‘can do’ people who have good ideas and put them into practice.

“At Esh Group we employ more than 1,000 people and we believe that it’s important, especially in these challenging times that people are positive and versatile.”

Karen Wilkinson-Bell, regional director of Business in the Community in the North- East, which has given its support to the scheme, said: “I understand that this is the third year of Grow with Esh and that including today, 60 schools and hundreds of children have benefitted from the project.

“Business in the Community recognises what a great example it is of how Esh Group supports the region’s future through young people.”

The three best schemes will receive further prizes of £3,000, £1,500 and £500 respectively following judging in the autumn term. The projects will be continually assessed throughout the year.

Schools from County Durham, Northumberland and Tees Valley, down to Guisborough, in North Yorkshire, have benefitted from the scheme. The Esh Charitable Trust funds projects in the North of England for children and young people, vulnerable people, environmental and community regeneration education, capacity and skills development.