TCES East London Pupils Achieve Kew Gardens Young Environmental Leader Award

Four pupils at the specialist school in East London signed up to Kew Gardens’ Grow Wild Initiative scheme in 2024. The initiative saw them undertake exciting projects to help protect endangered pollinators like the Small Blue butterfly and Brown-banded Carder bee in their local community.

Supported by their mentor ecologist, Mark Patterson, they began by growing native wildflowers in the school greenhouse before visiting their selected planting sites to sow yellow rattle seeds. They also chose to plant wildflowers at the busy Queen Elizabeth Park, alongside the park’s Biodiversity Manager, Tom Bellamy. Their green-fingered efforts have created vital new habitats for these essential pollinators and demonstrate how young people can make a big difference for nature in their own cities. 

Having successfully completed the scheme, the pupils were awarded their Young Environmental Leadership Award certificate during a ceremony at their school.  Shining a light on their achievement, the Youth Environmental Leadership Awards aim to nurture young people’s leadership skills, a sentiment shared by Year 11 pupil Shaquille who commented "I really enjoyed working together with my friends on this project, learning how to work together with other pupils and spending time as a team to reflect and share ideas on ways to improve our garden and plants.”

Group working is something TCES know is fundamental in helping to shape young people’s lives. As TCES Founder and CEO Thomas Keaney explains, “We know our pupils are individuals with untapped leadership potential. It is our aim that, by the time they leave us, they have moved to a place of independence and leadership. The Youth Environmental Leadership Award really helps in these efforts, encouraging our young people to lead in their communities and engage in community services. Once they see the wider impact they have, it reinforces the idea that leadership isn’t about power, it’s about giving back.”

Gaia Busic, Kew Gardens’ Grow Wild Engagement and Training Officer echoes these sentiments, “We were delighted to work with TCES East London Independent school, as part of Grow Wild – the national outreach programme of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The Kew Young Environmental Leader Award supports young people in developing their leadership capabilities, alongside their interest in, and knowledge of, the natural world. Recognising leadership skills across nine dimensions, the team must work hard to create plans, mind maps, an environmental vision statement and an evidence portfolio which enables them to reflect on their growth and achievements throughout the project.”

So, when you’re passing through Queen Elizabeth Park, Tower Hamlets Cemetery or TCES East London school, keep your eyes out for these colourful new additions – they should be blossoming in spring!