A NEW competition will encourage children to design a sustainable garden which incorporates elements of recycling, edible food and wildlife habitats.

Youngsters will see the project through from the seed of an idea to the fruits of their labours, after Paignton Zoo teamed up with NPS, which looks after land at Devon's schools.

The Grow Up! competition, launched at the Devon County Show yesterday, is supported by the Western Morning News and will prompt pupils to think about biodiversity.

The winners will see their design created to for next year's Devon County Show, and then be transferred to their school.

To launch the scheme, zoo gardeners have created an example which features fruit trees such as apple and cherry, as well as wild flowers, vegetables and herbs.

The garden won a gold medal in the flowers and gardens exhibit, and Kevin Frediani, curator of plans and gardens at the zoo, hopes it will inspire pupils.

But he said it was crucial that the design was wide open to children's imaginations. "I think kids are quite clued-up, and it will be interesting to see what we get," he said.

Mr Frediani said the exercise would teach children a about their environment. He added: "Forget the curriculum, this is about our basic values. It goes right back to common sense. Children should know more about their environment. They live in it, they will contribute to its future. If they don't have those values, what are they going to make of it?"

Amanda Brent, business director at NPS, said the competition would be split into the categories of coastal, rural and urban gardens, with a winner in each. But the overall champion would bag the top prize.

She said the entry process was as simple as possible, to ensure it did not create a burden for teachers.

More information on entering the competition is available at the Devon County Show or on the website www.growupdevon.co.uk

The launch comes in a year when many exhibitors in the garden and flower tent have been promoting bio-diversity and growing food.

The St Loye's Foundation worked with Westhill Garden Centre to produce a garden which showcased biodiversity, and encouraged people to promote wildlife by planting things which attracted butterflies, bees and birds. Many of the specimens on show can also be eaten.

Jane Vyse, horticulture lecturer at Bicton College, said she was "very pleased" that the display promoting recycling and biodiversity won a gold medal. Students had been planting for months to showcase how to make the best use of old containers in a sustainable way, including old pots and pans, and even beer cans.

Ms Vyse added: "Our messages are important because it spreads the word about ever-decreasing world resources and the dreadful attitude we have to chucking things away when most of it is perfectly reusable over and over again.

"The garden is the perfect place to recycle, because so many things lend themselves to different uses."