News February 2016
29 February 2016
Outdoor Learning Conference 2016
Fancy a brilliant day of workshops on topics around outdoor learning, food education and school gardening? Join the 3rd annual Outdoor Learning and ‘Plot to Plate’ Conference – Monday March 7th, 9-3pm.
Special guests this year include The Eden Project from Cornwall, Jamie Oliver’s Kitchen Garden Project, The Royal Horticultural Society and The Garden Classroom. The price is only £50, including lunch and pizza from our wood fired oven. The school ban will serenade attendees during the break.
Workshop topics include developing a creative curriculum outdoors, grow-to-sell and numeracy, early years gardening, plot design, cruss-curricula links, forest schools in the city, quality cookery in the classroom and wildlife gardening.
Other speakers include Tom Moggach: author of The Urban Kitchen Gardener; Matthew Loveday: wildlife expert; Cassie Liversidge; Jules Rogers; Julie Riehl (Capital Growth) and Sally Stratton.
To reserve your place, please email: or telephone: 020 7485 4899.
29 February 2016
Free "Gardens and Mental Health" for primary schools funded by The Wellcome Trust
It is the last chance for primary schools to have a free 'Gardens and Mental Health' workshop this year - bookings for the Summer term. The Wellcome Trust are funding a day workshop for KS1 and 2, on how gardens and nature can help mental health, using art, design, mindfulness. An outdoor space isn't necessary.
Contact Rebecca Smith on 0330 660 0132 or to book.
25 February 2016
Trees for Cities - 2016/17 Dream Fund Edible Playground programme
Trees for Cities are seeking one final London school for their 2016/17 Dream Fund Edible Playground programme supported by players of the People's Postcode Lottery.
This programme match funds (to 50%) the cost of creating an Edible Playground at school, an academic year of gardening support training, three chef visits from Chefs Adopt a School and Food for Life Award support from School Food Matters.
If your school is embarking on vegetable growing please contact to discuss this opportunity.
19 February 2016
Mayor helps tackle child obesity with £42,000 for schools to grow food
- 21 Lambeth and Croydon schools share £42,000 School Garden Grant
- Mayor has partnered with Whole Kids Foundation to pilot the programme in the UK
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, today confirmed that 21 schools will share a £42,000 funding pot, allowing them to grow their own food as part of his ongoing drive to tackle obesity in the capital and get young Londoners eating more healthily.
21 schools in Lambeth and Croydon will receive grants ranging between £300 and £3,000 from the School Garden Grants scheme to create or improve edible gardens, which will be used to educate children about the food they eat and help them to lead healthier lives.
Lambeth and Croydon were both selected by the Mayor to be Food Flagship Boroughs last year, working to tackle child obesity through better diets and food education. In a UK first, the boroughs are making changes to the way food is served in schools, hospitals, and - working with major supermarkets and other retailers - on the high street. The aim is to show that joined up thinking can improve health and academic attainment of pupils and also of adults in the local communities they serve.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: “I am delighted to be working with Whole Kids Foundation as we introduce this innovative scheme to Croydon and Lambeth – two boroughs that are doing great work to improve diets and attitudes to food.”
“School Garden Grants are a great way to harness the enthusiasm of teachers, children and parents toward eating more fruit, vegetables and quality, affordable food. Eating well helps not only to avoid health problems now and in the future, but has been shown to be a key ingredient to classroom success.”
Projects in Lambeth include:
- Sudbourne School will receive £2,600 to introduce chickens to their existing school garden. Pupils and parents will be supported by Father Nature, a social enterprise promoting children’s learning through nature and helping young fathers gain gardening skills, build confidence and find employment. Together, they will prepare the site and the eggs will be used in cooking classes and any surplus sold to the school community.
- Julian’s Primary School will receive £1,170 to create a small shop next to the garden where children can sell produce and products they have grown and made. Children will pick and prepare seasonal produce, make preserves, create a school recipe book, collect and package seeds and grow plants in pots to sell.
Projects in Croydon include:
- St Giles will receive £3,000 to help build purpose built, wheelchair accessible beds, an outdoor shelter for the pupils, and specialist tools. St Giles is a special school for pupils with physical disabilities, complex medical needs and complex speech and language needs. This will be the first ever ‘Edible Playground’ in a special school, with a significant amount of additional funding raised by Trees for Cities
- Shirley High School will receive £799 and is the only secondary school in Croydon that will receive a School Garden Grant. .The garden will be primarily tended by Food Technology students along with disengaged students. The grant will pay for raised beds, basic tools and equipment along with a small storage shed.
The Mayor has teamed up with Whole Kids Foundation to deliver the School Garden Grants scheme. Whole Kids Foundation – the charitable arm of Whole Foods Market – has run the scheme in the US and Canada for five years, with impressive results. Their work there has funded 3,014 school gardens, trained 8,438 teachers and served 3,796,922 students. By encouraging children to plant, nurture, harvest, cook and eat food they have grown themselves, the pilot scheme in London will help them to foster a love of good food and increase understanding of how diet impacts on health.
Benjamin Woodgate from Whole Kids Foundation said: “The more kids know and feel connected to their food, the more curious they become about how things grow or taste, and the more willing they are to try new foods. This is why we believe in edible garden learning spaces.”
For more information on School Garden Grants please visit https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/business-and-economy/food/food-flagships/flagship-school-garden-grants
Notes to editors
The London Food Flagship programme has established two Food Flagship boroughs: Croydon and Lambeth. Using the School Food Plan as a critical foundation, the Flagships will demonstrate the transformational impact on health and attainment achievable through improving food across the whole environment, using schools as a catalyst to drive this change. While there will only be two Flagships, the initiative is intended to impact all of London. By investing to transform the food system in two concentrated areas, the benefits will be learnt and shared across the whole city and beyond.
Whole Kids Foundation is dedicated to helping kids eat better—and enjoy it! Whole Kids Foundation is a non-profit – (UK charity number pending) founded by Whole Foods Market and guided by the same values, principles, expertise and standards for quality ingredients, food production methods and nutrition.
The London Food Flagship programme is one of a number of initiatives supported by the Mayor aimed at tackling obesity amongst school children. They include the multi-million pound Sports Legacy programme to get young people and the wider population involved in physical activity; the Healthy Schools London awards, which supports and recognises school achievements in pupil health and wellbeing; and the Takeaways Tookit, which the different ways that local authorities can tackle the impact of fast food on Londoners' health, for example by limiting the number of fast food outlets near schools.
For more information go to www.london.gov.uk/priorities/health.
Summary of projects to receive funding:
LAMBETH
Sudbourne School - £2,600
Julian’s Primary School - £1,170
Effra Early Years Centre - £2,000
Maytree Nursery School and Children’s Centre - £2,438
Stockwell Primary School and Children’s Centre - £3,000
Archbishop Sumner Primary School - £675
St Stephen’s C of E Primary School - £2,766
Oasis Academy Southbank - £2,550
Livity School - £500
St John’s Angell Town C of E Primary School - £3,000
CROYDON
St Giles - £3,000
Tunstall Nursery School and Children's Centre - £1,625
Howard Primary School - £2,745
Park Hill Junior School - £3,000
Beaumont Primary School - £780
Shirley High School - £799
New Valley Primary School - £2,404.50
Priory School - £2,500
Elmwood Junior School - £2,500
Rowdown Primary School - £1,179
Chaffinch Brook - £786
18 February 2016
TV gardener Chris Collins confirmed as the keynote speaker for Food Growing Schools: London upcoming Schools Conference 2016
London, UK. Chris Collins, famous TV gardener and passionate Garden Organic ambassador, will be the keynote speaker at the two Schools conferences organised this spring by Food Growing Schools: London, a project which brings together since 2014 the very best of London’s food growing expertise, information and support, with the ambition to inspire and equip every school in London to grow their own food.
Chris Collins, TV gardener, quote: “I am very excited to be the keynote speaker for the Food Growing Schools London Conferences. I value greatly the opportunity of sharing my food growing experience with teachers, and younger generations. As a long standing ambassador for Garden Organic, I am always keen to support this kind of initiatives that gets more schools growing.”
Chris will be also part of the “Gardeners Question Time” activity held during the conferences which will be packed full of growing ideas for all the participants. London schools are welcome to book a place at one of the FGSL Schools Conferences which will be held on Tuesday 15th March in Camden (Argyle School) and Monday 11th April in Southwark (John Ruskin). Two venues, one conference for a day of school gardening workshops delivering a variety of interactive and informative advice and hands-on activities led by London’s school food growing experts.
Jemima Wade, Headteacher of Argyle School, quote: "Hosting the FGSL Schools Conference 2016 will be a great pleasure for us, as we foster and support food growing in our school. We are therefore pleased to share our space with other London schools during the March conference day".
The event aims to bring together schools from across London to be inspired by the breadth of support available to them in order to grow food. It will include a welcome address from Chris Collins and lead partner Garden Organic who will be joined by a number of partners including School Food Matters, Trees for Cities, Capital Growth and the RHS Campaign for School Gardening.
Suzy Gregory, Headteacher of John Ruskin School, said "We are very excited to host the FGSL Schools Conference 2016 at our school. Food growing plays a central part in our school, pupils take part in everyday growing that develops a love of food and an understanding of the journey from seed to plate. We are delighted to have the opportunity to share our progress with other London schools during the upcoming event in April".
Topics will cover meeting new Ofsted and curriculum guidelines using food growing; planning and constructing a growing space, food growing and enterprise. There will also be the opportunity for tours of the on-site school gardens which host the conference, a Marketplace showcasing London school food growing organisations, and a tasty networking lunch.
For each conference Food Growing Schools: London is offering 50 free places to the schools worth £150 per delegate. Bookings and infos at:
http://foodgrowingschools.org/events/#Schools%20Conference%202016
Looking now for food growing support materials, tips, resources? All London schools and volunteers can sign up for free on http://foodgrowingschools.org/
Ends
For more information please contact: Maria Bada – 0207 065 0889 / 07474210703
Communications Officer - Food Growing Schools: London
Images available upon request
Notes to Editors
Notes:
Food Growing Schools: London brings together the very best of London’s food growing expertise, information and support, with the ambition to inspire and equip every school in London to grow their own food. Together, we’re cultivating young people’s love for learning and hunger for knowledge, and developing supportive local communities through food. Growing Ideas. Sowing Inspiration. Cultivating Futures. http://foodgrowingschools.org/about
Chris Collins has been at the forefront of Horticulture in the UK for over 25 years now, working at Kew Botanic gardens before becoming head gardener at Westminster Abbey. Chris was then picked out by the BBC for the Plants-man series and consequently became the resident Blue Peter gardener, a position he still maintains after 9 years. CM Collins Horticulture was set up 10 years ago and blends Chris's TV and journalistic work with horticultural design and consultancy, specialising in plants and soft landscaping. http://www.chriscollins.org.uk/
Schools Conferences 2016 Events: Bringing together local authorities, educational institutions, stakeholders and public health leaders to support food growing projects in their boroughs.
- North London Conference - Tues 15 March 2016, Argyle Primary, Camden. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/schools-conference-registration-19802038430
- South London Conference - Mon 11 April 2016, John Ruskin Primary, Southwark. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/schools-conference-registration-19802040436
3 February 2016
Countryside Classroom’s Passport
The closing date for Countryside Classroom’s Passport competition is approaching.
There’s still time to start but if your class is a few points short, read some ideas for completing challenges as part of your core subjects.
For further info please check: www.countrysideclassroom.org.uk/news/76
Closing date: Wednesday 24 February 2016
1 February 2016
Free 2016 Grow Wild seed kits
Capital Growth is taking part in the UK’s biggest ever wild flower campaign by sharing free Grow Wild seed kits.
Register today using Grow Wild’s one-minute form.
Just write how many people there are in your group/s, and the right number of seed kits will be send out to you in late March 2016 - just in time for sowing.
Closing date: Midnight 14 February 2016
