Isca Academy students have been recognised by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for their blossoming gardening efforts, proudly achieving their Level 1 Gardening Award.
The achievement marks a significant first step in the school’s mission to promote sustainability, outdoor learning, and wellbeing through gardening. The award came with a bundle of goodies, including seeds for the year ahead, an inspiring book on the power of gardening for mental and physical health, and a beautiful certificate which now takes pride of place in school.
On 16th July 2025 staff and residents at Cumberland Grange care home in Exeter will be dusting off their dancing shoes, leg warmers and glowsticks for the launch of their new Dementia Disco initiative.
Knowing how much their residents living with dementia love to dance and sing, the activities team at Cumberland Grange care home came up with the genius idea of a dementia-friendly disco. The team is also inviting along relatives and loved ones, members of the local community and friends of the home to the first official dementia-friendly disco.
Five Rivers Child Care is delighted to announce that all of its residential children’s homes have been officially rated either ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted, the UK’s independent regulator of services for children and young people. This milestone reflects the organisation’s deep-rooted commitment to delivering exceptional care and support to vulnerable children.
With nine homes located across England, Five Rivers provides a safe, nurturing, and therapeutic environment for children who are unable to live with their families. The recent Ofsted inspections praised the homes for...
Libraries Unlimited South West, a charity that provides community libraries across Devon and Torbay, were delighted to receive a donation of £9,531 from the Morrisons Foundation. The funding from the charitable arm of the supermarket has covered the costs of creating two innovative 'sensory zones' at their library in Exeter, one for children aged 0-7, the other for 8-12 year olds. Rachel Payne, Business Development and Fundraising Manager, Libraries Unlimited said: “The generous donation from the Morrisons Foundation will help us create an exciting new interactive feature for the new...
Hosted by Irish actor and comedian Ed Byrne, the 22nd Michelmores Property Awards took place on 2 July 2025, at Sandy Park Conference Centre in Exeter, celebrating the very best of property development, construction, and regeneration across the South West. This year, the Awards continued to recognise projects that demonstrated outstanding quality, innovation, and sustainability, positively impacting communities and environments throughout the region.
The prestigious title of Building of the Year 2025 was awarded to the Babbage Building in Plymouth. This landmark educational...
A date for the diary, Love Local Food Festival by Greendale, in collaboration with Food Drink Devon, is returning to Exeter Castle on Saturday 9th August from 10am - 6pm. Free to enter and set in the heart of Exeter, the festival promises a day of delicious food and drink, live entertainment and family fun, all while celebrating the very best of Devon’s food and drink.
Hosted by the award-winning Greendale Farm Shop, the festival brings together over 80 local producers, offering visitors the chance to taste and purchase some of Devon’s finest food and drink. From artisan breads...
Topsham based charity, Estuary League of Friends, have launched their appeal to raise £10,000 in a week to provide vital services to support people in need of care, comfort and support in rural communities between Exeter and Exmouth.
The appeal is part of national match funding campaign #SmallCharityWeek . Donations made to Estuary online at BigGive.org between 23–30 June 2025 will be matched £1 for £1. So, a gift of £10 becomes £20, £50 becomes £100, and so on!
All the funds raised will be used to deliver vital services for the community such as:
Exeter’s historic quayside got a whole lot cleaner last Friday, 20th June, as Coastal Recycling brought together 60 volunteers from 15 local businesses for its first-ever ‘Clean the Quay’ event, collecting an impressive 100kg of rubbish in just a couple of hours. Held in celebration of Employee Ownership Day, the clean-up wasn't just about litter; it was about local action, collaboration, and creativity. Coastal Recycling, an employee-owned business, led the initiative with support from fellow employee-owned firms Stephens Scown and Market Carpets, alongside a vibrant network of...
With a strong passion for storytelling and ocean conservation, Devon-based environmental journalist, author and broadcaster Anna Turns is taking on a new role as patron for Libraries Unlimited. Her new BBC radio series, Secrets of the Sea, explores how Westcountry marine scientists are tackling global issues such as overfishing, climate change and sea level rise.
Anna is currently working as senior environment editor at The Conversation UK, a charity working with academics to make evidence-based research more accessible to a mainstream audience. She has also presented episodes of...
Over 160 producers, hospitality businesses, retailers, academics and food sector professionals from across the South West united last week for the inaugural Gather summit, a landmark one-day event spearheaded by Food Drink Devon in collaboration with the University of Exeter.
Held at The Forum, University of Exeter, on Wednesday 11th June, the summit delivered a powerful day of insight and inspiration for the region’s vibrant food and drink community. An impressive line-up of keynote speakers including David Edwards from the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, BBC Gardeners...
