June 2nd 2016
Eighteen Liverymen and family members making a party of 25 braved the rain to support Master Bernard in The Lord Mayor's Show procession and to launch the Future Gardeners project.
As the Gardeners' two floats passed the Mansion House grandstand, some opportunistic guerilla gardening took place. Banners, surrounded by colourful planting, were unveiled at the entrance to Bank station directly opposite the Lord Mayor and his party of guests. The aim was to highlight the Company's ambitious pre-apprenticeship scheme to introduce young, disadvantaged people to horticulture.
The stunt was remarked on by the BBC TV commentator and the strategic placing of the banners and planting meant that the Company's message was visible during much of the television coverage.
The Gardeners' second float was sponsored by Bartlett Trees, Ernest Does, Capel Manor College and Paul Cable, who also drove the tractor. It was accompanied by a team of Bartlett 'Treepeople' carrying shrubs on their backs and a group of enthusiastic young people from Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST), one of the Gardeners' key partners in the Future Gardeners scheme.