It’s the RPA Autumn Show this Sunday, our very popular annual and well attended get together to celebrate all things growing successes of veg, fruit, flowers, preserves and cake making at the highly competitive Produce Show, Tallest Sunflower and Heaviest Pumpkin competitions, Raffle, BBQ, Home Produce stall, drinks tent and our ever-popular café – all part of our flourishing RPA community life. Over the years we’ve run competitions for children themed around plot grown produce, wildlife, nature and using plants for printing. Judging is always tricky as entries are so creative, imaginative, design-strong, clever and fun. Judges are briefed to award prizes to those entries that are definitely all the childrens’ own work – adults, stand away! Here’s a look back at some of the excellent entries from the past few years.
In 2018 the younger age group, up to 7 years entered Veggie Bugs while the older group, 8-11 were invited to make Bug Houses. The results were impressive!
After the 2019 pandemic year we reopened the Sunflowers competition, grown and measured in situ with awards presented at a distance in a small ceremony.
2021 was our centenary year and there were three creative entries for the ‘100’ competition.
In 2022, following a plant print family workshop there were some lovely entries into the Plant Print Art competition. The recycled plastic bottle planter competition also provided some clever and innovative entries.
Last year I was away for the ‘Plot in a Box’ competition but we’re re-running it again this year and hoping for some exciting entries! It’s always a bit of a lottery as to how many entries we get and over the years the entry table has sometimes been packed with entries, sometimes less so. But we always try to make the competitions fun and based around encouraging kids to get down with wildlife, nature and all things plot based. The National Allotment Society provides some great ideas for engaging children with allotments and with the wildlife and natural environment all around – see thenas.org.uk > downloads > Children On The Plot Our most spectacular wildlife variety was found earlier this summer crawling around our front door and in the silver birch tree in the forecourt – at least two stunning Lime Moth caterpillars with their blue tail horns! When they turn a browny-grey colour it means they are ready to go into a state of pupation, usually under the soil around lime or silver birch trees. The following year they emerge as a large and subtly coloured adult moth.