A marketing campaign by Isle of Man Bank using sunflower seeds bore fruit in more ways than one and ultimately resulted in an award-winning project for students at Ballakermeen High School.
To highlight a business campaign, on the principle of ‘watch your savings grow,’ the bank used the rapid growth theme of the sunflowers. A local mail drop saw all Island residents receiving small packets of the seeds.
Nicky McDaid, House Manager and Environment Co-ordinator at Ballakermeen, takes up the story: ‘Some of the students came into school with packets of the seeds and we decided to try and grow them. Then we hit on the idea of turning it into a major lunchtime gardening project.
‘I contacted Isle of Man Bank and they agreed to help us finance an initiative which involved clearing an area at the front of the school and digging out the weeds -not to mention a number of bricks. Armed with money from the Bank and a few other donations I went to garden centres around Douglas and purchased plants for the cleared area. The garden centres also helped out by giving us some free plants!’
Students gave up part of their lunch hour in the summer term to devote to the project, plus a team of students during Enrichment Week devoted their time to finishing the gardens. All in all approximately 200 students took part in the activity and the result was that Ballakermeen won first prize in the Community category of the Douglas in Bloom contest. However, the school is not resting on its laurels and is entering the competition again this year – once more with the help of Isle of Man Bank. Mrs McDaid and her team intend to plant out the borders of the garden in the colours of the different house groups – red, green, yellow, blue and purple.
John Lindon, Isle of Man Bank’s Community Investment Manager, said the Bank was pleased to support such an imaginative project. He added: ‘We were pleased with the marketing success of our savings campaign but also delighted to hear it had such a spin-off effect for Ballakermeen. The Bank would like to congratulate the students on the back-breaking work they put in to bring the project to fruition and on their Douglas in Bloom success.’
Denise Kelly, manager of Isle of Man Bank’s Athol Street branch in Douglas, went along to the school to meet some of those involved in the project, be given a tour of the garden, and to see the trophy won by Ballakermeen.
Ends
Friday 13th, May 2011 01:02pm.
