LIZ Doherty is described by the school where she works as “an inspiration to generations of children”.

A nursery nurse at Hook Lane Primary School in Faraday Road, Welling, she runs the school’s gardening club and so much more.

Already the winner of the Clyde Pugh award at the Bexley Environmental Challenge, given to an individual for commitment and hard work in the community, Mrs Doherty has been nominated for the Green Champion award in this year’s Green Guardian Awards.

She will join other nominees at the Wyndham Grand in Chelsea Harbour on February 26.

Much of her work is done in her spare time and Mrs Doherty has been the inspiration behind many of the school’s environmental projects.

To celebrate the school’s centennial year, she helped create the sensory garden, persuading parents and groups and businesses to donate their expertise and materials.

And she also used the garden to teach the children about planting herbs, their histories and how to use them in cooking.

To further Hook Lane’s healthy eating campaign, Mrs Doherty taught herself about vegetables and then set about creating the school’s vegetable garden, passing her newly acquired knowledge to the children.

As well as growing the veg, some of the gardening club children were able to take the produce home to eat.

Some of the veg contributed to the school’s harvest festival and its crop of tomatoes provided the tomato chutney sold at the school fete.

The school’s much neglected wildlife area was brought back to life by her, after she persuaded a parent’s company to donate a large wildlife pond and recruited the 7th Welling Scouts to help the parents, staff and children.

As well as a pond, there are new trees, a composting area and a mini-beast hotel as well as wildflowers, all with laminated information boards.

The gardening club and a team of parents under Mrs Doherty’s guidance have taken over the school’s flowerbeds, using themed planting including a dry-tolerant bed and during the school’s Grounds Week she organises a competition for the children.

And like a true green champion, she encourages wildlife by working with the children to make bird feeders, nesting material bundles and butterfly kits and uses recycled materials such as old railway sleepers, tyres and CDs.