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Your CommunityYou are in: Birmingham > People > Your Community > You've done us proud Mrs McGhie You've done us proud Mrs McGhieBy Patricia Hoskins First Lady of the allotments Mrs Eunice McGhie-Belgrave has been awarded as the Pride of Britian 2009 'Local Champion'. For more than 15 years Eunice has inspired hundreds of inner-city children to grow vegetables and take pride in their community.  Mrs E McGhie-Belgrave MBE Great-grandmother Mrs Eunice McGhie-Belgrave, 75 (known locally as Mrs McGhie) runs a Handsworth based allotments project called Shades of Black, the project enables young people in the area to learn basic gardening skills. Children from local schools are taught about soil, seed germination, digging, planting, watering and weeding.  Mrs McGhie - Pride of Britain A local championHosted by Carol Vorderman the glitzy annual Pride of Britain Awards ceremony took place on Monday 5th October 2009 acknowledging the great achievements of people from across the UK whose work in their communities go unrecognised. Local winner Mrs McGhie beamed as she picked up the Local Champion award presented to her by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. Listen to Phil Upton talk to Mrs McGhie about her award on the BBC WM Breakfast Show. Help playing audio/video  Mrs McGhie teaches young people to grow vegetables A commitment to helping young peopleMrs McGhie was also awarded an MBE in 2002 for her services to the community. Eunice set up the Shades of Black community allotments project aftermath of the Handsworth riots in 1985. It started with a group of Afro-Caribbean women who were committed to developing the skills of young people. Fruits and vegetables grown by the young people are then harvested and distributed by them to elderly people in the local area.  Young people on the alloments with Shades of Black Mrs McGhie explains, “If the children know where their fruits and vegetables come from and help to grown them they will understand how nice it is to eat the fresh ones rather than the pre-packed." Shades of Black has been featured on BBC's Gardener's World, local newspapers, magazines and right here on the BBC Birmingham website. On the allotments with Shades of BlackShades of Black was featured as part of a BBC WM Make a Difference Day campaign in October 2006. BBC WM joined Handsworth school children and the Shades of Black on the allotments for their harvest festival. Watch video highlights of Mrs McGhie and the school children in action.Help playing audio/video  Eunice and her volunteers More about Shades of BlackShades of Black is based at the Uplands allotments in Handsworth. Co-ordinated by Eunice together with a group of dedicated volunteers the project has been running community activities for over 15 years. Watch Mrs McGhie-Belgrave talk about Shades of Black and her passion for helping young people. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites  Mrs McGhie-Belgrave picks up her award Mrs McGhie-Belgrave - Pride of Britain 2009last updated: 08/10/2009 at 14:37 SEE ALSOYou are in: Birmingham > People > Your Community > You've done us proud Mrs McGhie 
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