From a derelict site in 1982, Roots and Shoots has grown to become a well-established and respected vocational training organisation with biodiverse wildlife gardens, offering a safe haven for both people and nature to flourish.
2015 Chelsea Flower Show
The 2015 Roots and Shoots - Pennard Plants collaborative Chelsea Flower Show garden was inspired by Kipling’s poem ‘ The Glory of the Garden’, which emphasised the diversity of people of all abilities who can do gardening, be gardeners and benefit from the beauty of gardens and nature.
Once again staff, students and volunteers pulled out all the stops, with the presentation receiving a Gold medal, and a visit by Her Majesty the Queen to the stand where she met our director Linda Phillips MBE and Chris Smith from Pennard Plants. The development of the garden was featured on the BBC’s Chelsea Flower Show television programme.
Read more about our 2015 Chelsea Flower Show Presentation on our Blog.
2016 New Roots Building
In 2016, after raising £300,000 from various funders including LandAid, the final 70 year old war-time prefab building on site was replaced with a Hudson Architects-designed eco-building for multi-purpose educational use. Find out more about the New Roots Building in e-architect.
2017 Roots and Shoots in The Guardian
In 2017 Roots and Shoots was featured in an article in the Guardian, read it here.
"We help them flourish and bloom"
2017 - David Sawyer receives MBE
David Sawyer was the Roots and Shoots volunteer accountant from 1994 until 2017, visiting from Brighton weekly, and he also became one of our first trustees when Roots and Shoots became independent in 1997. In 2017 David was awarded an MBE for his outstanding contribution to Roots and Shoots and his many other charitable endeavours in Brighton. David was an incredibly kind man, dedicated to Roots and Shoots, who helped us survive during very difficult financial periods.
In 2018 David sadly passed away, and he is very missed. There is now an annual David Sawyer Memorial Prize for the student who shows exemplary kindness and compassion to others.
2018 Roots and Shoots Featured in the Financial Times
In 2018 an article about Roots and Shoots was featured in the Financial Times.
"I can't tell my own future, but I didn't realise I'd be somewhere so nice like this"
Shabaz, one of our students
2019 Director Linda Phillips MBE Elected RHS Associate of Honour
In 2019 our Director and founder Linda Phillips MBE was elected as an Royal Horticultural Society Associate of Honour. This is a lifetime achievement award for professional horticulturalists, and there are only one hundred award holders in the UK at any one time, with women being in the minority of award holders.
“Roots and Shoots is a fantastic tool to enhance the lives of so many people. Our approach stabilises and strengthens students' mental and physical health, calms and regulates their emotional experience and nurtures and develops their inner lives and aspirations.”
Linda Phillips MBE AoH