Haskins Garden Centre teams up with local junior school to boost concentration and productivity

Haskins Garden Centre in West End has partnered with Bishop’s Waltham Junior School to donate houseplants for the children’s classrooms and staffroom.

Haskins’ donation of 11 different types of houseplants including areca palms, calatheas and boston ferns, will benefit staff members and students at the school. Darryl McMahon, assistant general manager at Haskins in West End, explained: “Houseplants help to make the air in the home, or the working environment, less toxic by purifying the air. Communal spaces can be full of airborne pollutants, especially in the winter months, when windows are closed to the cold air outside and central heating is ramped up indoors.

“We teamed up with the school to help boost concentration levels, improve air quality and reduce stress levels by providing pupils with these complimentary houseplants.”

Sophie Menjou, customer service assistant and Cultivation Street Ambassador for Haskins in West End, also donated some seeds and bulbs for the children to plant on the school grounds. Sophie has been a Cultivation Street Ambassador for Haskins for two years and focuses a lot of her time on providing gardening advice to local schools to encourage children and the local community to get out in the garden.

Lucy Pearmain, lower school phase leader and English manager of Bishop’s Waltham Junior School, added: “We are so grateful for the donations made to us by Haskins. The children were extremely excited about planting their bulbs and seeds at gardening club and are looking forward to watching them grow. Our staff have commented on how welcoming the staff room and communal areas look with the plants we kindly received, and it has certainly brightened up our school.”