If your garden shed is cluttered with old and broken tools, this April is the perfect opportunity to have a clear-out and help support gardening communities around Taunton.
Monkton Elm Garden Centre have announced its 2019 TOOL AMNESTY, in partnership with The Conservation Foundation’s Tools Shed project, which repairs garden tools in prison workshops, giving old and broken hand tools a whole new lease of life.
Gardeners are invited to bring their unwanted garden hand tools* to Monkton Elm Garden Centre in Monkton Heathfield during April 2019 and in return they will receive a 10% discount on all new garden hand tools.
The unwanted tools will begin their journey for reuse by being delivered to Dartmoor Prison where they will be carefully refurbished before being distributed to local school and community gardeners.
HMP Dartmoor is one of five English prisons in the Tools Shed project which is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
Since the project’s 2011 launch in the South West, thousands of broken tools collected at garden centres, horticultural projects and recycling centres in the region have been refurbished at Dartmoor Prison’s Tools Shed workshop before being given away free to schools and community groups.
Steve who is a Store Manager at Monkton Elm Garden Centre said, “It is great that old tools can be recycled and then given back to clubs and schools to be used once again. In this modern throwaway world it’s really important to recycle wherever possible. Tools Shed is not only helping to reduce the amount of waste from old, unwanted or broken tools, but also providing an opportunity for prisoners to learn valuable skills.”
Says Kevin Marsh, Tools Shed Regional Organiser for the South West, “It’s a win, win! The Tool Shed project gives your unwanted and broken tools a new lease of life thanks to the prisoners at Dartmoor and then gives them away to local schools and community groups who can make good use of them.”
If your school or community group would like to receive free tools once they have been reconditioned, please register your details on The Conservation Foundation website.
*Garden hand tools only please including hoes, rakes, spades, forks, trowels etc. No electric, petrol, power driven or cutting tools.
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