Whether you have a window box, a garden or an allotment, why not enter this year's Blind Gardeners of the Year competition?
2009 is the fourth year that we have run the competition in partnership with RNIB and this year's theme is growing food. The competition is open to anyone who has sight loss, wherever you garden, and whether you've just started out or have years of experience.
We'd like to know how you achieve what you do in the garden, the obstacles you've overcome and how gardening helps you. So why not enter, tell us all about you, your garden and the food you grow to eat and share? You could win a super handcrafted trophy and prizes from a selection donated by Wiggly Wigglers and Chase Organics.
There are three competition categories, each with a first, second and third prize:
- Blind Gardener of the Year (over 18) – tell us what you grow to eat and why. Does it improve your health, make you more independent or help you make new friends?
- Young Blind Gardener of the Year (under 18) – we'd like to hear from young people who have sight loss, tell us what you grow and how you share it with others.
- Blind Gardening Club or Group of the Year – if you're involved with a gardening club or group, in which the majority of people are blind or partially sighted, tell us how your club supports its members, what you achieve and how you grow and share food.
To register for the competition, call Thrive on 0118 988 5688, or send us an email with your details and full postal address, and we'll send you a registration form and information leaflet about the competition.
When we receive your registration form, we'll send you a competition pack with everything you need to know, free Suttons' seeds and a Garden Organic catalogue to get you started. Entries are are accepted in any format and can be written and submitted by another person.
Make sure you send us your entry by 20 July 2009. The winners will be announced in September 2009 and the award ceremony will be on 30 September.