 Giving children the chance to grow their own fruit and veg helps build an important relationship between what's on the plate and where it comes from. On another level, gardening can act as a focus point around which to plan science, art or English lessons. It is also possible to use the garden to great effect when teaching pupils with special educational needs. In recognition of this, there are now a number of helpful schemes to assist you with bringing gardening into the school (see bottom of page) Such is the nature of the activity, pupils are generally left relaxed and calm after a session on the allotments. Our maintenance team and gardeners work together to build an environment in which your pupils can discover the magic of gardening without leaving the school premises. Past projects of ours have gone on to win awards, in one case earning the school several thousand pounds! 
If you would like to further discuss just how we can enhance your school with an allotment, call us on 020 7099 9113 or send us a message. School Gardening Schemes The all round benefits of gardening in schools has been recognised by a number projects which have sprung up providing supporting teaching materials, funding support and growing advice. These include:- The Food for Life Partnership A large campaign which is focused around growing food. Their comprehensive manual written by Garden Organic includes a wealth of information and we use it ourselves as a resource when building allotments. Schools are awarded based on a number of tiers of achievement depending on how much of the framework they take up. The campaign promotes a strong tie between schools and the catering company working at the school. View the Food For Life Partnership website Capital Growth Backed by the London Development Agency, their idea is to have 2012 new food growing spaces in London by 2012. Being London-centric, they are experts in dealing with the unique issues connected with creating a grow space in London. View the Capital Growth website RHS - Campaign for School Gardening Arguably the best known and most respected gardening organisation, the Royal Horticultural Society has put together this scheme - supported by Waitrose - which is built around growing of all kinds in school. Joining brings access to regional advisers, free seeds and an information pack. "View the RHS - Campaign for School Gardening website Finding Funding The RHS website has two fantastic pages detailing how to get funding for school gardening pages. These can be found here and here
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