Youngsters at Dodleston Pre-School have started growing their own snacks in a new garden area.

This exciting development is the result of a funding initiative by housebuilder Redrow, which allocated £300 from their community fund to improve the outdoor space.

The funding, linked to the Kings Moat Garden Village on Wrexham Road, has been used to purchase a plastic greenhouse, a children's potting bench, gardening tools, compost, seeds, and plants.

Melanie Hughes, secretary of the Pre-school, said: "Unless there is a weather warning in place, we operate all our sessions outdoors whether we have rain, snow, some wind, sunshine, hail.

"The children love exploring the outdoor environment and we wanted to start growing edible ingredients that the children can help to grow and then harvest to eat for their snacks."

The children have already planted peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, salad leaves and green beans.

Ms Hughes shared the project's future plans: "The children will learn where their food comes from and how to care for plants as well as encouraging families to join in.

"Depending on how it all goes, we’d love to enter some offerings into the local Dodleston Show in the autumn."

They have already started planting   (Image: Redrow)

The Pre-school, which has operated from the village hall for more than 40 years, relies heavily on its fundraising to ensure that it can provide the children with a fun educational experience.

Amanda Hollins, area sales manager at Redrow NW, said: "The pre-school is a huge part of the local community in Dodleston and we wanted to give them the opportunity to expand the offering for the children and help towards purchasing the tools to teach them all about healthy eating."

For more information about Dodleston Pre-School and the Kings Moat Garden Village development, visit www.dodlestonpreschool.co.uk and www.redrow.co.uk/locations/north-west/chester, respectively.