Benidorm presents the awards for the 1st School Garden Competition to promote environmental education

Benidorm City Council today presented the awards for the 1st "Sustainable Benidorm" School Garden Competition, in which eight local preschools and primary schools participated. This initiative was launched by the Departments of Employment and Local Promotion, Environment, and Education with the aim of promoting environmental education, respect for the natural environment, and the active participation of the educational community in the city's sustainable development.

The awards ceremony took place today in the City Hall Plenary Hall. Following the jury's evaluation, the first prize went to Miguel Hernández School, second to Ausiàs March School, and third to Mestre Gaspar López School.

"The schools that work on the school garden with their students have demonstrated that it is a powerful educational tool that fosters values ​​such as environmental awareness, recycling, healthy eating, and teamwork, among others," stated Mayor Toni Pérez during the ceremony. This activity included the collaboration of staff from the T'Avalem Benidorm Sustainable Youth Guarantee employment and training program, specialising in Environmental Interpretation and Education, to promote and advise on the care and maintenance of the school garden.

Vasco Núñez de Balboa (Garden Design and Creativity), Puig Campana (Sustainability and Resource Use), La Cala (Educational Community Participation), Gabriel Miró (Environmental Education and Outreach), and Serra Gelada (Crop Diversity and Agricultural Techniques) schools, also receiving special mention in this First School Garden Competition. In addition, all participating schools received a certificate of completion and a compost bin donated by Concorci Mare. The three winners also received financial contributions of €500, €300, and €200, respectively, for the purchase of educational or horticultural materials, a certificate of completion, and a compost bin.

At the end of the event, the mayor emphasised that a school garden "is a powerful tool to change the world" and affirmed that having a garden is "creating life to lead a better life." Toni Pérez also alluded to the 700th anniversary of the city's founding, stating that "when Benidorm was born, it had land and sea, and the people of Benidorm were already caring for the land." In his opinion, "any school garden or urban garden contains more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) than any other human endeavour."