14-year-old wins nationwide contest for enviromentally friendly app

A 14-year-old has won a nationwide contest after designing an app encouraging youngsters to be environmentally friendly ahead of Tu B’shvat next week.

Gideon Ezra, a pupil at Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School triumphed in the Mitzvah Connect contest, organised by Jewish Interactive and Mitzvah Day, with an app that invites students to create and decorate flower pots using recycled materials and deliver them to local care home residents.

The iThank You app is available on all platforms and organisers are hoping schools will use the resource during the week of Tu B’shvat.

Mitzvah Day founder Laura Marks said: “This project presents an opportune time to teach and give students a way to care for and respect the earth and its inhabitants.”

• Schools wishing to be linked to a local care home can email sophie@mitzvahday.org.uk