THERE were ten green bottles... that built a school greenhouse.
Pupils at Scartho Junior School have taken a hands-on approach to learn about the environment.
By recycling plastic bottles at home, they have managed to collect enough to build a greenhouse – the idea which came from their garden club teacher Barbara Smith.
She first saw the project advertised on an event stand at the Chelsea Flower Show and wanted to bring it home.
Mrs Smith said: "I have always been keen on gardening and the school has always had its own green space to do various things with.
"The children are already involved with growing their own vegetables in our little compost beds.
"Now we will have a recycled greenhouse to grow foods such as tomatoes, peppers and more.
"The pupils use a lot of the foods we grow in cookery classes, so they learn the whole process."
Working from designs, the greenhouse needed about 1,500 plastic bottles to be fitted within a wooden frame.
Ray Gula works for Novartis in Grimsby, a company which runs a community partnership programme each year.
As Ray's daughter attends the junior school, he pitched the greenhouse idea to his bosses and colleagues, who were more than happy to help out.
He said: "We rolled up our sleeves and together built the wooden frame of the greenhouse and put it all together.
"I am intrigued to how it will all work, but I think it is a fantastic thing for the children to be involved with.
"Not only does it help them learn about the environment but they are getting out in the fresh air and having fun."
Syilvia Maduako, 8, is a member of the school gardening club.
She said: "It builds up our teamwork skills when working in the garden because we all have to take on certain roles.
"The vegetables need watering and monitoring regularly.
"I am excited about the greenhouse as we can grow different foods."
Ashley White, 9, saved up lots of plastic bottles at home.
She said: "I had a drink a lot to collect bottles.
"I love taking care of the garden, I do some gardening at home as well.
"I am looking forward to looking after the plants inside it – it looks really cool.
Tips on how to build your own plastic bottle greenhouse 1) Gather heaps of used plastic bottles. The two litre bottles are ideal and around 1,500 are needed for a large sized greenhouse. 2) Wash the bottles and remove the labels. This can be done in a bucket of soapy water. Remove the bottle tops and cut off the bottoms of the bottles with a sharp pair of scissors. 3) Fix four posts vertically into the ground. Treated 4" x 4" posts cemented a couple of feet into the ground works great. These are for the corners of the greenhouse. Put slabs or mulch around and inside to suppress weeds. 4) Make a frame for each side, roof, door etc. These are best done with treated 2" x 2" timber made into frames with mitred corners screwed together. 5) Stack the bottles one inside another with a garden cane supporting them through the middle. At one end reverse a bottle so it faces the opposite way from the rest and fit it inside. This will make a long tube with the ends of the garden cane sticking out of the tops of the bottles at either end. Place the bottles and canes onto the frames to be attached at the top and bottom of the frame. 6) Using fencing staples attach both ends of the cane onto the frame. The frame will keep the bottles squashed up. Staple as many rows as possible until the frame is filled. 7) Screw completed frames onto uprights. 8) The roof can be flat or sloping. If making a sloping roof it is best to make two triangular frames for the gables. Staple bottles onto these frames as before. Screw the triangular gables to the posts and include a top beam and vertical supports (from the top of the gables to the top of the front and back panels). The sloping sides of the roof can be made out of similar panels as the walls. These can then be screwed onto the top beam, gable ends and top of the side panels. The door can be made of a smaller frame hinged to a larger frame making up the front wall. Make the door smaller than the inside of the frame to allow it to open freely even if it sags. Start growing your flowers, veggies etc
