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Information for growing food in schools The best way to get a child to eat vegetables is to involve him or her in the process of growing and cooking them. School gardens or veg patches are a great way to get children more interested in food and to engage them in learning, team work, exercise and confidence building – and most kids love getting their hands dirty!
On this page you can find out more about the benefits of gardening in schools as well as who can help with school gardens: Other food-related activities for schools
Why grow in schools? Growing fruit and vegetables provides a wonderful learning opportunity and can link into many areas of the school curriculum such as like science, pshe, numeracy and history. However, while schools often have the space for establishing a garden or veg patch, sometimes it is difficult to find the time in a tightly packed school day or the budget to get it up and running. But it doesn’t have to be expensive or overly time consuming – there are lots of ways to get help and support, loads of great resources about how to get started growing and fun and educational ways of linking gardening to learning. You’re not just limited to growing cress in toilet roll tubes! Even schools with very limited space can try growing fruit and veg in containers in a sunny windowsill or outside. The produce can be used in many ways: cookery sessions, after school clubs, school feasts or other special occasions, or simply just picking and tasting what you’ve grown. There’s nothing like picking a ripe cherry tomato or strawberry and popping it straight into your mouth, and there’s something so magical about pulling up a carrot and digging up potatoes. And don't forget to celebrate what you're grown! A Harvest Feast is a great way to show off all your hard work: students and staff can work together to cook up a big celebratory meal using fruit and veg from the garden. Share this with parents and show them how great their kids are at cooking and growing (and eating!) healthy foods. For tips and ideas about how to organise a harvest feast contact Simon Parker who’s run several of these events in schools.
Harvest Schools: Lots of schools around the city have developed gardens: some Harvest Schools is a new one-year project lead by the Food Partnership that aims to work with schools in Brighton & Hove to improve their food growing projects and better link them to the National Curriculum. The project will offer schools termly, themed networking meetings for teachers and others involved in running school gardens. We have also awarded small grants for equipment and materials such as seeds, irrigation equipment, compost and netting (see below), and in-depth practical support from experienced gardeners for up to five schools. The next networking meeting will be on 12 June 2012, from 4:00 - 5:30 at Somerhill Junior School. It will include a workshop on growing and the National Curriculum. Click here for more info. To get involved with Harvest Schools contact Ann on 01273 431718 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and read a summary of the project here. Small grants for school garden equipment are now closed to applications. Who can help locally: there are many sources of help and expertise out there. You may have untapped knowledge amongst school staff or the wider school community so it’s worth asking around. Many schools bring in someone to run growing clubs for them (e.g. from a local community organisation or friendly gardener).
Resources and tips for making your garden grow: there’s a lot of useful information available online to help schools plan what to grow and how to link gardens to the curriculum. There’s also plenty of information that highlights the benefits of growing food in schools and will help you plan your garden! Remember, timing is an important thing to consider. Many fruits and vegetables are ready to harvest during the school holidays, so it’s important to focus on things that are in season during term times so the children get the fun of picking and eating what they’ve nurtured throughout the year! A couple of handy reports:
Some useful links:
Inspire children and school staff by arranging a visit to a local farm or community growing project. Visits are a great way for students and staff to see food production in action and to learn more about how food is produced. Visit to growing projects: several of the community growing projects around the city welcome visits from school groups. Each project will have different requirements, so always speak to them first. Here's a link to contact details for the Moulsecoomb Forest Garden and the Whitehawk Community Food Project as well as some other useful links for teachers interested in food and farming. Farm visits: the Food Partnership has worked with Farming & Countryside Education to arrange school visits to a local dairy farm. You can also arrange for a downland walk with a park ranger to learn about local conservation issues. Click here to find out more. School gardens network: See details about the Harvest Schools project above.
The Harvest team would be happy to have a chat or provide advice to help you with setting up or maintaining your school garden. Give Ann a call on 01273 431 700 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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large, some small, some even keep chickens! Moulsecoomb Primary School, Portslade Infants, Somerhill Primary, Hertford Juniors, Varndean Secondary School, and St Marks are just a few examples. With a bit of funding from Ernest Cook, the Harvest project has more resources to help schools get growing and keep growing.
Other food-related activities for schools
