Farm to Fork – Creating the Connections

It’s a shame that many children in our local community can’t experience a garden, let alone get their hands and knees dirty on a farm. We are proud to be helping to put this right.

These days, our local growers are enjoying a much more informed consumer, one that knows the importance of buying local and all the benefits that it brings. Buying local, has never resonated as loudly as it does today.

Last week your Society released information about twenty lucky recipients who have received grants from our Eco Fund. One of these is the amazing Farm School Initiative in Jersey, an inspired outdoor classroom that is growing – literally and metaphorically!

I spoke to Grace Davies, the enthusiastic architect of the project. I was won over by her passion to give the Island’s children the opportunity to actually grow their own vegetables. She explained that schools visit the farm for six consecutive weeks and how the children plant, tend for and harvest their own crop! Each child gets his or her very own plot and each week they go home with a bag of salad and vegetables that they have picked themselves.

This helps the children to connect food to their environment, promotes healthier eating choices and enriches their learning in a hands-on way that no text book can.

Grace told me that students are able to grow up to 12 varieties of produce on their own plots. They learn how to measure out their own plot area, space out plants efficiently and then plant their chosen varieties. Each week they can watch their own plot flourish and they can record the changes they see.

The Farm School Initiative is delighted to have support from The Co-operative Eco-Fund this year. We all hope that their very special and hugely important project inspires our children and encourages them to value the growing process.

If you are a parent, I suggest you ask your child’s school if they can create space in their curriculum to allow children to benefit from time at The Farm School. I know that I will!

CM

Check out The Farm School Initiative Jersey video here