Trinity’s Bud and Blossom Garden Touches Hearts and Wins Awards

We are thrilled for the students and staff at Trinity Catholic School, who have been awarded a Gold Award and a People’s Choice Award at this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC Birmingham.

Their entry, The Bud and Blossom Reflection Garden, was designed by four Year 11 students from the History Research Group. The garden was created to mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of World War II, and aimed to build connections between generations, communities, and nature.

The students worked together to create a reflective space filled with meaning. The space featured symbolic planting, a reflective pool, and a silver birch tree, which was chosen for its ability to regrow after devastation. Visitors were invited to hang names of loved ones from the branches, making it an emotive and interactive experience, offering a moving tribute to memory and resilience.

Despite being first-time designers, the students’ garden was described by BBC assessors as “emotive” and “exceptional,” with judges adding:

“The fact that the students aren’t horticultural students shows what a huge achievement this is. You should all be very proud.”

Deborah Hayden, who leads the History Research Group at Trinity, said:

“We have been completely overwhelmed by the response. To receive a Gold Award and the People’s Choice Award is beyond anything we could have imagined.”

The garden will now be recreated at Trinity, with open events planned for the community. There are also hopes to replicate it in Windermere on the historic Calgarth Estate, once home to 300 child Holocaust survivors.

This is a proud moment for Trinity and a brilliant example of creativity, compassion and student voice being brought to life.

If you’d like to support Trinity in recreating the garden on their own site, you can donate here:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/friendsoftrinitycatholicschool?utm_medium=CR&utm_source=CL