News March 2015
23 March 2015
We are recruiting!
Food Growing Schools: London – Engagement Officer. London
£25,000 pro rata. Part time (tbc - 2.5 -3 days a week)
Location: Old Street, London and Home based
Holiday Entitlement: 25 days + plus bank holidays
Overall purpose: Food Growing Schools London is an exciting project which proposes to engage with all schools in the Greater London area in food growing. We will be working with local networks, educational providers, schools, volunteers and other stakeholders to provide a Pan London network of support for schools. We are looking for individuals who have a proven track record of engaging and inspiring schools, volunteers and communities to embrace food growing or similar activity.
Application Closing Date: Monday, 13 April 2015
Download job description and apply via the Garden Organic website.
16th March 2015
Richmond school wins competition special prize awarded by celebrity gardener
See also: Grow Around the World
Trafalgar Infant School in Richmond beat scores of green-fingered London schools to become special prize winners for the ‘Grow Your Own Lunch Competition’ organised by School Food Matters. Winning the special ‘Grow Around the World’ category awarded by the wider Food Growing Schools: London partnership, the students impressed judges with their sensational recipe design for an exotic, Tanzania inspired, two-course lunch.
From Tanzania to Twickenham with Trafalgar Infant School
Trafalgar Infant School used their experience raising money for a school vegetable garden in Tanzania with the Tanzania Livingstone Trust, to inspire their recipes. “Our children were thrilled to win! They filled their growing beds with new produce such as okra, chickpeas, and coriander and then cooked up delicious recipes for all to try. They are looking forward to cooking their 'Grow Around the World' food again on their community Big Dig day for all to enjoy.” Rachel Hutchins, Sustainability Teacher, Trafalgar Infant School Richmond.
The special prize was awarded to coincide with Food Growing Schools: London partnership’s ‘Grow Around the World’ campaign, a London schools’ celebration of food from around the world: foodgrowingschools.org/events/world. The judges were impressed by the student's ideas, creativity and research into growing exotic food, “Trafalgar Infant School stood out as real global citizens, demonstrating that food is connector of people, cultures and creativity. It is a pleasure to see London schools going one step further, learning to grow and cook exotic food often eaten in their own local communities, and experimenting with new growing ideas and recipe design.” said Chris Collins (BBC TV Gardener)
The whole ‘Grow Your Own Lunch’ Competition award ceremony will take place at the Edible Garden Show at 12noon on Friday 20th March 2015, at Alexandra Palace. The special prize will be awarded by expert judges Chris Collins (BBC TV gardener) and James Campbell (Garden Organic Chief Executive): www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk
Among the schools short-listed to win the special ‘Grow Around the World’ prize were Bensham Manor School, Chisenhale Primary School, Colville Primary School, John Ruskin Primary School, John Scurr Primary School, Sacred Heart Primary (Battersea), St John’s C of E Primary School (Kingston), St Teresa Catholic Primary School and Ursuline Prep school. “The quality of school competition entries was extremely high, with each new entry showing creativity and inspiration that kept the judges smiling. Exotic food is rarely grown in the UK, but London students showed a real thirst for learning, demonstrating that anything is possible.” said James Campbell (Chief Executive, Garden Organic).
Trafalgar Infant School win ‘Grow Around the World’ category prizes, including:
• 5 free tickets for the Edible Garden Show (20 March 2015)
• A half day visit to the school from a gardener.
• A Sowing New Seeds guide to growing unusual crops in the UK – plus a CD of recipes and posters, created by Garden Organic.
• A selection of unusual vegetable seeds,
• A watering can and bottle top waterers.
Notes
About us: Food Growing Schools: London and School Food Matters
The Big Dig: Saturday 21st March 2015 - community garden national volunteer day.
The Schools Big Dig: 16th to 29th March 2015 - corporate voluntereing with schools
www.capitalgrowth.org/events/schoolsbigdig
Press coverage: Richmond and Twickenham Times; Local Gardener.
13 March 2015
London businesses give an extra hand to growing schools
See also: Events
Businesses in London are joining forces with London schools for the Schools Big Dig 2015, a new two-week event matching corporate volunteering groups with schools who need help to set up or improve their school food growing space. This event is organised by Capital Growth as part of their wider Big Dig initiative, in partnership with Food Growing Schools London.
Taking place between 16th and 29th March 2015, businesses including Civil Service Fast Stream, Edelman, Elba, Jamie Oliver Foundation, Nasdaq and Vodafone, will be rolling up their sleeves and picking up garden forks to help schools from Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hackney, Lambeth, Southwark and Waltham Forest who have signed up. It will be a day to remember with activities including everything from preparing raised beds to digging over soil, making food growing structures and more – with plenty of fun and fresh air for all.
Among the schools taking part is Archbishop Sumner Church of England Primary School in Lambeth, who will be welcoming Jamie Oliver Foundation staff to help develop their science eco garden. "We are very excited to be participating in the Schools Big Dig. The children are looking forward to planting their new fruit & vegetable crops." said Babs Wright, School Cluster Manager, Archbishop Sumner Primary in Lambeth.
The 10-string team of Jamie Oliver Foundation staff will be ploughing their time and energy into volunteering on the day, as well as giving a donation of £100 to the school for their future gardening activities. “Getting our team out into a local school is a brilliant way for us to practice what we preach. We believe that it is essential that every child learns about food, what it is and where it comes from, and there is no better way to do that than to get kids growing food for themselves. Thank you to Archbishop Sumner for having us, and to the Schools Big Dig team for bringing communities together to make a difference to our children's health." said Juliane Caillouette Noble, School Programmes Manager, Jamie Oliver Food Foundation
Other London schools taking part include Grange Primary School (Southwark), Kenmont Primary School (Hammersmith and Fulham), Mulberry School for Girls (Tower Hamlets), Netley Primary School (Camden), St. Gabriel's College (Lambeth), St. Scholastica’s Primary School (Hackney) and Willow Brook Primary School (Waltham Forest). Businesses and schools will be using the Twitter hashtag #schoolsbigdig to share their stories and photos of the day.
The Schools Big Dig aims to become an annual event, welcoming corporate volunteers every year to get to know their local community, give something back, and support local schools. This green initiative also aims to inspire healthier communities by sharing local growing skills, educate young people about where their food comes from, and develop more green spaces in our city. www.capitalgrowth.org/events/schoolsbigdig
The Schools Big Dig will enable London schools who are not yet growing, or are in need of a helping hand in their school gardens, to join Grow Your Own Picnic activities taking place in London during the summer term, organised by Food Growing Schools: London: foodgrowingschools.org/events
Notes
About us: Food Growing Schools: London and Capital Growth
The Big Dig: Saturday 21st March 2015 - community garden national volunteer day.
The Schools Big Dig: 16th to 29th March 2015 - corporate voluntereing with schools
www.capitalgrowth.org/events/schoolsbigdig
Schools Big Dig 2015 – 16th to 29th march 2015
The Schools Big Dig is a collaboration between Food Growing Schools: London and Capital Growth, London’s food growing network of over 2000 growing spaces, including over 700 in schools, based at charity Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming. Inspired by the national Big Dig event, a day of public volunteering on community food growing sites, initiated in London by Capital Growth in 2012. www.capitalgrowth.org/events/schoolsbigdig
Social Media
Businesses and schools will be using the Twitter hashtag #schoolsbigdig to share their stories and photos of the day.
12 March 2015
Flagship Boroughs - Food Programme, GLA
Work has now started in the Food Flagship boroughs to implement and expand a range of projects aiming to improve the quality of food available to schools and communities; increase understanding of how diet impacts on health; develop practical cookery skills, increase food growing and foster a love of good food. Lambeth and Croydon were selected last Summer as the two Flagship boroughs after a competitive bidding process.
The Flagship boroughs came out of the national School Food Plan published in July 2013. The plan included a commitment for the Department for Education (DfE) to support the Greater London Authority to launch two Flagship Food Boroughs in London. 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.
Update - May 2015
The Food Flagships programme is now well underway in Lambeth and Croydon with flagship teams being set up in both boroughs to deliver projects with the vision to change the whole food environment. We will also be doing all we can to direct additional resource, expertise and enthusiasm towards the flagships to really start turning the dial. A good example of this is the connections we have made between the flagship boroughs and Food Growing School London who have recently started delivering training in Lambeth and looking to do the same in Croydon. The aim is to ensure as many schools as possible in the flagship boroughs will be food growing.
Lisa Bennett
Principal Policy Officer – Food Programme
Greater London Authority
Tel: +44 (0)20 7983 4920
Disclaimer: The Food Growing Schools: London partnership does not take responsibility for the content of news articles written by individual organisations, which are published on our 'News' pages.
