A woman who has spent ten years volunteering with children in the great outdoors has had her work recognised with a prestigious local award.
Rosey Lyall, 67, is a founding trustee of the Garden Classroom, a charity which aims to teach children about the mental and physical benefits of nature, won the Mayor’s Civic Award last Thursday.
She has devoted thousands of hours to helping to create low-cost experiences for the Garden Classroom.
The charity has staged Shakespeare plays, invited children to watch bees make honey and hosted pop-up, educational sessions about nature in local parks.
The Mayor’s Civic Award recognises locals who make a major contribution to the lives of others in their local community.
Rosey, who has worked with the Garden Classroom for more than 10 years, said voluntary work with the charity “has brought joy to my retirement”.
She said: “I’m amazed, as I didn’t even know I had been nominated. But I’m thrilled that the work of The Garden Classroom could be recognised.
“The Garden Classroom makes a really profound contribution to the well-being of Islington children, young people and families and I’m really proud and thrilled that’s been recognised.”
The Garden Classroom congratulated Rosey on Twitter, saying: “So proud of our 10-yr volunteer Rosey, awarded the Mayor’s Civic Award last night…she doesn’t teach but has masses of other talents that make her invaluable.”
This is Rosey who has volunteered for 10 years with The Garden Classroom. She doesn’t garden and she doesn’t teach but has masses of other talents which make her invaluable. If you’d like to volunteer with one of Islington’s liveliest charities, get in touch! pic.twitter.com/8ZZNie4G2s
— The Garden Classroom (@grdnclassroom) March 17, 2018
The Garden Classroom regularly delivers workshops and events on wildlife, gardening and the environment in Islington, and is primarily based at King Henry’s Walk Garden.
