A GROUP of green-fingered Ipswich primary school children will have the chance to grow their own vegetables this year — thanks to a donation from a leading UK builders’ merchant.
Youngsters at Sprites Primary Academy on Stonechat Road have been the beneficiaries of a generous material donation from Travis Perkins to help them build new vegetable patches at their school.
The work was a joint venture carried out by Travis Perkins’ Ipswich branch, situated on Hadleigh Road Industrial Estate, and one of its customers, Gipping Construction Limited.
The branch donated eight sleepers for the garden and Gipping Construction’s site manager, Dale Gregory, did the construction work.
Mark Lockwood, Ipswich assistant branch manager, said: “Gipping Construction are customers of ours and when they explained to us that they wanted to make a vegetable garden for the children at Sprites Primary Academy, we were more than happy to help.
“It is nice for the children to be able to grow their own vegetables at school and we are pleased with how the new structure has turned out.
“It will be fantastic for the children to learn about the origins of food production, and we are thrilled to be helping with this important community donation.”
Dale, from Gipping Construction, said: “The team at the school was over the moon and the pupils are super excited to start planting in early spring. My two brothers-in-law and I will return in early spring to install the membrane and supply and install the topsoil.”
Travis Perkins is part of Travis Perkins plc and is believed to be the UK’s largest supplier of building materials to the building and construction industry. Featuring a network of over 500 branches, it supplies thousands of products and materials, including a tool hire service, to trade professionals and self-builders across the nation.
It offers a wide range of quality timber, building materials, kitchens, plumbing and heating, landscaping, painting and decorating essentials and tools for the job.
See page 34 of our February/March 2026 issue on our Back Issues page.
