The Global Garden Club at Avalon Elementary School, in Naples, earned first-place honors in the Multiple-Class Garden Category in the 2013 University of Florida (UF) Environmental Horticulture Department’s School Garden Competition. This is the second time in recent years that a group of students from the third through fifth grades has won this prestigious award.

The Avalon program was directed by teacher Patricia Thorsen and Horticulturist Marianne Ravenna and supported by the Naples Botanical Garden (NBG) and residents of Windstar on Naples Bay.

The competition was designed to encourage the use of school gardens, which are judged according to education relevance, level of involvement and garden quality, sustainable gardening, integration of Florida State Standards and community involvement.

For more information, call Thorsen at 239-377-6200 or Washburn at 239-325-1915.