Tag: Bexley

June teachers forums in Camden, Islington and Bexley

We’re hosting a few events this month and with the growing season off to a sunny start,  our engagement officers, are ready to support your school food growing by providing information and resources at teachers forums!

Timings for both events are 4 – 5.30pm. Locations to be announced soon.

Islington and Camden are hosting the first of two twilight forums on 20 June, with a focus on the Early Years setting.  Come along to find out how to incorporate growing in a setting that suits your learning environment.  Whether it’s starting seeds off indoors and then moving them outside once they’re stronger; or discovering ways of dealing with pests such as slugs, the session will no doubt offer resources to get you started or help you along your already established journey of food growing.

To register your interest in attending, please contact Marjon Willers –  

Bexley hosts the second twilight forum on 26 June, with a focus on infusing food growing into the Primary Curriculum from Year 1 up to and including Year 6.  This session will empower you to start growing using whatever space you have by giving you the confidence to teach any area of the curriculum through the use of your outdoor space.  Initiatives along with resources will be shared including how to grow your own picnic and how to use food growing in an enterprising way.

To register your interest in attending please contact Louise Tse –

We look forward to seeing you at one of the above forums!

For more training and events coming up, please click here.

Project Learning Garden prepares for first growing season in London

The Project Learning Garden team have been busy recruiting and training schools in Merton, Bexley and Southwark while gearing up for the first growing season of the project in London.

Project Learning Garden provides starter kits to schools with everything they need to start or refresh a food growing garden and use it as an outdoor classroom. Project Learning Garden provides schools with hands-on training, curriculum linked resources, raised beds and gardening tools, a fully equipped mobile cooking cart and ongoing support and guidance.

Despite the snow in March, they held two training sessions to meet with teachers and other school staff to start to work on planning how to link a school garden to their curriculum. The sessions covered curriculum, organic gardening, basic cooking skills and working with groups outside. The team running the workshop were joined by former Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins and Master Gardeners in Southwark.

The schools will soon be receiving their ‘kits’ which include a selection of cooking and gardening items as well as raised beds and lots of activities and resources to deliver the curriculum.

Schools also have access to a range of lesson plans and activities which link to environmental themes and subjects across the curriculum.

Delegates at the training session were enthusiastic and went away feeling positive about the whole day and being involved in the project. One delegate said:

‘I really enjoyed the day and found it useful and very helpful’

‘It was good to be reminded how important the soil is in or garden – easy to forget!’

To find out more about PLG visit the Garden Organic website here.

Garden Organic, the UK’s national charity for organic growing & the Captain Planet Foundation (CPF) a charitable organisation based in Atlanta, USA, are working in partnership to bring their successful Project Learning Garden programme to the UK.

Seeds of Change®, who donate 1% of sales to research and promotion of biodiversity and sustainable organic practices, are generously funding this pilot project, making this new partnership possible.

Bexley food growing and mental health workshop a success

Food Growing Schools: London teamed up with The London Borough of Bexley’s Public Health Team to highlight the positive impact food growing can have on young peoples mental health and to get more schools to get involved.

We shared details about this session in January, to see more read Promoting healthy lifestyles and mental wellbeing in schools.

The food growing forum was held after school on 29 January at Bexley Civic Council Offices and was a great success.

Ten staff members from various Bexley Primary and Secondary Schools participated in an informative session that considered how school food growing activities can support the mental health needs of pupils.

, Engagement Officer for Food Growing Schools: London (FGSL) writes:

“The Public Health Team in Bexley and I met with in November last year to discuss the idea we had of a jointly run forum/workshop. We wanted to share information about dealing with the struggles that school-life can throw-up by discussing outdoor learning or food growing as a positive outlet for pupils with mental health challenges.  We were thrilled to be able to come together to run this session which was met with positive reviews.”

Pascale, from Bexley Public Health team,  has a background in promoting positive initiatives for dealing with mental health issues. She shared information around the Five Ways to Wellbeing – something she is promoting through assemblies in schools in Bexley..

Lisa from Food growing Schools; London knew that many of the people attending were new to food growing and worked at schools where the outdoor growing space was overgrown or non-existent.  She presented ideas on how to infuse outdoor learning activities linked to promoting mental health initiatives into the school day.The session included attendees making their own paper pot, filling it with compost and sowing a broad bean seed.  This activity was an example of what school staff could engage in with their pupils in a mindful way.

We encouraged everyone to keep in contact with us at Food Growing Schools: London in order for us to let them know what further support we could offer via our online survey. On top of that, we encouraged everyone to sign-up for our regular FGSL Newsletter which includes lots of helpful information including fun competitions and training available throughout London.

Project Learning Garden seeks schools in Bexley, Merton & Southwark

Project Learning Garden is recruiting schools in Bexley, Merton and Southwark

Project Learning Garden  provides free starter kits to schools with everything they need to start or refresh a food growing garden and use it as an outdoor classroom.

Schools are provided with free hands-on training, curriculum linked resources, raised beds and gardening tools, a cooking kit and ongoing support and guidance.

Project Learning Garden is looking to take 10 new schools on board in Bexley and Southwark. Schools in Merton can also apply.

For more information and to apply please visit the Garden Organic website

https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/project-learning-garden-captain-planet-foundation

What is Project Learning Garden™?
Project Learning Garden is a programme that provides starter kits to schools with everything they need to start or refresh a food growing garden and use it as an outdoor classroom. Project Learning Garden provides schools with hands-on training, curriculum linked resources, raised beds and gardening tools, a fully equipped mobile cooking cart and ongoing support and guidance.
Who started Project Learning Garden™?
The Project Learning Garden programme was first set up by the Captain Planet Foundation in the USA.
Captain Planet Foundation is a grant-making foundation that has funded over 2,600 hands-on environmental education projects with schools and non-profits that serve children in all 50 U.S. states and in 25 countries internationally. More than 1.4 million children have directly participated in and benefited from these educational projects.
Since 2011, over 340 learning gardens have been set up in the USA, across 10 States.  Due to its success, Project Learning Garden™ is now being piloted by Garden Organic in the UK.
Who can get involved?
We are looking to work with primary schools who do not have a school garden or whose garden needs re-invigorating so that it can be used effectively as an outdoor classroom during the school day.
To apply or find out more, please visit the website.

Mind and Food Growing in Bexley

Promoting healthy lifestyles and mental wellbeing in schools

As part of the ongoing work to support healthy lifestyles and positive mental wellbeing in schools, a workshop has been organised to raise awareness of the Food Growing Schools: London Project.

Food growing has been on the curriculum since the update in 2015 and it can be used to teach children so many other topics in relation to science, numeracy, literacy, geography, history, etc.

The workshop will be held on Monday 29 January 2018 at Bexley Civic Offices, Room G08 from 4-5.30pm. It will be facilitated by from Food Growing Schools and Pascale Berthellet.

The focus will be about food growing and how this links to health and wellbeing. There is a growing body of evidence that examines the link between food growing and mental wellbeing. For example, a food growing project can help build new skills that improve self-confidence and self-esteem, while building social networks and enhancing social inclusion. It would also be a good way to implement the 5 Ways to wellbeing.

If you feel that you or a colleague would benefit from this workshop, please email or fax the application form to Louise Tse by Monday 22 January 2018.

For more information and to get a copy of the application form feel free to contact Louise.

Louise Tse

Public Health Obesity Lead- Tel: 0203 045 3331

Pascale Berthellet

Public Health Advisor for Children & Young People- Tel: 0203 045 3831

Enterprise Food Garden Award winners

Nightingale Primary, Hackney - case study

Save