Looking back on Hothfield School's impressive commitment to wildlife and to fruit and veg growing
Hothfield Junior School's frontage was transformed into a showpiece wildlife garden in 2009 thanks to the vision of the then head teacher Mrs Ruth Leech with the immense support of Crabtree Care Homes.
Mrs Leech, who was acting head of Hothfield for a year before becoming head from 2006 to 2011, is pictured above at the official opening of the wildlife garden with (from left) Neil Whitaker, who was chairman of the governors, Brian Madden, who designed and created the garden, and Bob Thomas, who played a key part in turning Hothfield's School Street site into a fruit and vegetable garden. Brian Madden's imaginative design (pictured above) gave the garden an attractive mix of perennials and shrubs, a water feature and a seating area for learning and leisure. Mr Madden was in charge of maintenance for Crabtree Care Homes, which included (and still does) the Raikes in Bradley Road. He was also a talented artist and went on to be based in Glasgow, specialising in nautically-themed paintings.
The wildlife garden (pictured above as it is now) has become overgrown since Hothfield Junior School vacated the site nearly four years ago. Hothfield and Aire View Infants merged in 2017 to become Silsden Primary School, which moved to new premises in Hawber Cote Lane in January 2022. The old schools are to be demolished. Outline plans for 25 houses to be built on the Hothfield site and for 23 homes at Aire View are being considered by Bradford council. The Hothfield building supports a well-established and ecologically significant house-martin colony, which the council's biodiversity team says must be safeguarded. Pupils dig in to create a fruit and veg garden
While the wildlife garden was being created in Hothfield Street, the School Street side of the site was being transformed into a fruit and veg garden. This was another of head teacher Ruth Leech's inspirational projects to put pupils in touch with nature and to learn where fruit and veg came from and how produce was grown. Pictured above are the pioneering pupils of the school Gardening Club who got the garden under way, supervised by members of Silsden Allotment Association and helped by parents and grandparents.
Carrots were among the first crops grown at the new garden to supply the school kitchen. In the picture above is Mr Bob Thomas, of Silsden Allotment Association, who played a leading part in helping the children establish the garden. Bob was a pupil at the old Silsden Secondary Modern School, which included the schools's own allotments in Hothfield Street and which supplied the kitchen during and after the lean war years.
Pictured above are the Gardening Club's second line-up of members and helpers, who developed the project, bolstered by Morrison's donation of a greenhouse. Several local businesses donated goods and services to help the garden flourish, including Airedale Tree Surgeons, who supplied wood for the raised beds.A long-term mainstay of the garden was Mr Jim Walker, pictured above, a grandad of one of the pupils. His contribution and knowledge were outstanding and he went on to run the garden for several years. Jim died aged 83 in 2022. The fruit and veg garden was created from scratch on this unused grassed area. As can be seen from the picture below, the site is now overgrown, although two apple trees planted in the early days of the Gardening Club have continued to fruit each year.
Hothfield Junior School's frontage was transformed into a showpiece wildlife garden in 2009 thanks to the vision of the then head teacher Mrs Ruth Leech with the immense support of Crabtree Care Homes.
Mrs Leech, who was acting head of Hothfield for a year before becoming head from 2006 to 2011, is pictured above at the official opening of the wildlife garden with (from left) Neil Whitaker, who was chairman of the governors, Brian Madden, who designed and created the garden, and Bob Thomas, who played a key part in turning Hothfield's School Street site into a fruit and vegetable garden.
Brian Madden's imaginative design (pictured above) gave the garden an attractive mix of perennials and shrubs, a water feature and a seating area for learning and leisure.
Mr Madden was in charge of maintenance for Crabtree Care Homes, which included (and still does) the Raikes in Bradley Road. He was also a talented artist and went on to be based in Glasgow, specialising in nautically-themed paintings.
The wildlife garden (pictured above as it is now) has become overgrown since Hothfield Junior School vacated the site nearly four years ago. Hothfield and Aire View Infants merged in 2017 to become Silsden Primary School, which moved to new premises in Hawber Cote Lane in January 2022. The old schools are to be demolished. Outline plans for 25 houses to be built on the Hothfield site and for 23 homes at Aire View are being considered by Bradford council. The Hothfield building supports a well-established and ecologically significant house-martin colony, which the council's biodiversity team says must be safeguarded.Pupils dig in to create a fruit and veg garden
While the wildlife garden was being created in Hothfield Street, the School Street side of the site was being transformed into a fruit and veg garden. This was another of head teacher Ruth Leech's inspirational projects to put pupils in touch with nature and to learn where fruit and veg came from and how produce was grown. Pictured above are the pioneering pupils of the school Gardening Club who got the garden under way, supervised by members of Silsden Allotment Association and helped by parents and grandparents.
Carrots were among the first crops grown at the new garden to supply the school kitchen. In the picture above is Mr Bob Thomas, of Silsden Allotment Association, who played a leading part in helping the children establish the garden. Bob was a pupil at the old Silsden Secondary Modern School, which included the schools's own allotments in Hothfield Street and which supplied the kitchen during and after the lean war years.
Pictured above are the Gardening Club's second line-up of members and helpers, who developed the project, bolstered by Morrison's donation of a greenhouse. Several local businesses donated goods and services to help the garden flourish, including Airedale Tree Surgeons, who supplied wood for the raised beds.
A long-term mainstay of the garden was Mr Jim Walker, pictured above, a grandad of one of the pupils. His contribution and knowledge were outstanding and he went on to run the garden for several years. Jim died aged 83 in 2022.
The fruit and veg garden was created from scratch on this unused grassed area. As can be seen from the picture below, the site is now overgrown, although two apple trees planted in the early days of the Gardening Club have continued to fruit each year.
