The winners of this year’s Wildlife Garden Awards ceremony were announced at Nower Wood near Leatherhead last week.

Judges visited 134 schools, businesses and community and private gardens, looking for a range of habitats such as ponds, fruit trees, hedges and trees, long grass and log piles.

All entrants whose garden qualified received a bronze, silver or gold certificate declaring their garden to be officially a wildlife haven.

Gold award winners were also presented with a special commemorative plaque and the best gardens won a £50 Squire’s Garden Centres voucher.

ExxonMobil on Ermyn Way in Leatherhead was the overall winner in the business category. Judges noted its meadow area and chalk grassland packed with flowers.

The overall winners in the school category were Frimley Church of England Junior School, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Epsom and Warren Mead Junior School in Banstead.

Warren Mead Junior School was described by judges as a“very bee friendly school”.

Judges said: “they have kept two bee hives for a year donated by a local beekeeper, used as part of their nurture programme and also for Year 6 enterprise scheme selling honey.

“The children are actively involved in beekeeping. They make their own honey and the children label up the honey bottles to sell. They have a bee called Buzz Lightyear.’

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School was praised by judges for its wildlife zone, pond, fruit trees, glades, wildflowers and log piles.

Sue Edwards, of Surrey Wildlife Trust, said: ‘It is wonderful to see conservation in action, not just in nature reserves, but in people’s back gardens.

“Everyone needs to be responsible for taking action for wildlife so we can reconnect wildlife populations across the landscape.

“It is also fantastic that school grounds are being used more for outdoor learning, with wildlife gardening and vegetable growing.’