Gardening
Grow your own five-a-day!
Gardening is a great way to show children where their five-a-day come from.
It can be linked to all aspects of the curriculum in a practical way and with the benefit of working in the fresh air.
It gets children (and staff!) physically active, promotes teamwork, empathy with their local environment AND you get to eat the fruits of your labours! Trewirgie School has its own allotment where they have grown their own vegetables and taken them to the school kitchen to be cooked for school dinners!
If you are thinking of setting up a gardening club you may find the following websites useful:
- Growing Schools
- Garden Organic, schools pages
- Royal Horticultural Society's campaign for school gardening
- Edible Playgrounds
Why not get parents/grandparents to help run the club or talk to the children under the umbrella of extended schools?
You could also promote links with local gardening clubs or nurseries like Mullion CP School did, where Mullion in Bloom offered to run a gardening club. Gardeners love to share advice, plants and produce!
Rocket Gardens
Rocket Gardens is an online mail-order company based near Helston. It sells to customers all over the UK. It organically grows and distributes vegetable and herb seedlings direct to customers' doors. The organic natural growing system enables customers to create their own vegetable gardens simply and quickly, eliminating the precious time and effort involved in establishing seedlings. By buying a Rocket Garden you can simplify the process of growing your own organic vegetables and make the idea of a home kitchen garden a reality. Rocket Gardens has been running a schools project, Dig for their future, since 2007. We were really pleased to welcome Jenna from Rocket Gardens as an exhibitor at our 2009 celebration and awards ceremony and she encouraged many schools to plant their own gardens.
Environmental education
Schools wishing to make a positive contribution to the environment can register, together with their pupils, to become an Eco School. The website also gives information about a grant scheme which will award up to £5000.
