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| You are here > Education | ||||
Education Schools Project: Sowing the Seed
Growing nutritious food requires a better understanding of soil ecology. Educating our next generation and teaching them the value of good nutrition, begins with our schools' project: Sowing the Seed. Linked to our main research we use the same idea of tracking the flow of essential nutrients from soil to crop using a mix of science and/or art depending on age and ability. Testing the same crops but grown using different methods (known to affect soil micro-life) can affect the uptake of health providing nutrients. This can be assessed from scientific analyses and through experience by taste testing. Cultivating a deeper understanding in children of how soil ecosystems affect the health and vitality of plants opens the gate for them to realise the importance of nutrition. What's been going on?
We have four schools taking part this year all growing carrots and potatoes using either no-dig or digging method. The carrot experiment is linked to our National Growing Experiment which includes also Capel Manor College in North London and 25 GGA members spread around the country. This will produce meaningful results from different soils and climates and offer opportunity for wider discussion about growing food for nutrition. Schools taking part this year include two projects being run by our education development officer Jane Renton at: • Chipping Sodbury High School, South Glos And two projects run by volunteers at: |
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| What’s happening in the future? | ||||
| Our aim is to increase the number of Sowing the Seed projects around the country using volunteers and teachers. Resource packs will be available on the website soon but in the meanwhile anyone interested in running a project in 2010 should contact us now for further information at info@goodgardeners.org.uk | ||||
| How the project has developed | ||||
| With limited funds but lots of enthusiasm Sowing the Seed has been developing steadily since 2003 by Director Matt Adams. In 2008 we received funding from the Ernest Cook Trust and we employed part time education development officer, Jane Renton. Now into her second year we have more schools, resources and volunteers to run more projects in 2009. | ||||
2003 |
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 Developing the project with Newent Community School, Glos and Bristol Steiner School (11-13 year olds). Using tubs we created 6 different growing methods and grew the same variety of carrots and peas in each. |
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2006 |
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Developing the project with Acorn School, Glos (8-9 years old). Potatoes no-dig against dig in a garden setting. |
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2007 |
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Developing a series of lectures on Soil and Nutrition at Acorn School, Glos (15 – 16 year olds). The content of these lectures, including field trips to visit farmers using different methods of growing food, were subsequently published as a series in the Good Gardeners Association News Journal.
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2008 |
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Jane Renton, Education Development Officer appointed. Jane ran two projects at primary schools in Minsterworth, Glos (Key Stage 1) and Horton, South Glos (Key Stage 2). We had excellent feedback from pupils, teachers and others concerned. |
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| Read Jane’s blog by clicking here for a better taste of this project. | ||||
