How it works
Step 1: planning
Have a discussion with your school community including pupils about setting up an edible classroom; or perhaps there is already a garden on-site that needs some TLC? Think about who will look after the space on a regular and long term basis. We can help you identify a suitable site on your school grounds if you have not selected one already.
Step 2: financing
How will you fund the allotment and/or teaching sessions? Parent Teacher Associations are often very supportive of such iniativies, as are Local Councillors, or you can take a look at relevant grants to apply for. To give you a basis for how much things cost, we charge £20 per hour for all landscaping and teaching work. We understand how education settings operate and that each school has its own needs; we will work with you to provide support and ideas, and give you a resource for sourcing materials and their costs. Grants can be overwhelming, so we can provide support for these too.
Step 3: building
Work with your school community to develop a design, this is perhaps something your Eco Committee could take on. We work with schools and their pupils, using permaculture design methods, to help create effective edible classroom designs. This can also help funding bids, and identify what materials are needed for budgeting. Once you have secured funding, building can get underway.
Step 4: teaching
Lunch time or after school gardening clubs, weekly sessions for each year group, a termly rotation? How will the edible classroom be used and who will use it? There are many different ways of running such spaces, and we can help create a plan with you that fits both your budget and school community.
Step 5: growing
Many crops are ready to harvest during summer holidays, but there are lots that can be grown and harvested from September to March too. Developing a crop plan with pupils gives them a sense of ownership of the allotment, alongside connection with their food and the excitement of seeing food grow from seed to seed.
Step 6: celebrating
Celebrate your edible classroom with your community, invite staff and parents into the space, and contact local press to give them some positive news.
There are lots of great resources for all of these steps available at RHS Campaign for School Gardening.
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Edible Classrooms is a project of Honeybee Farmacy CIC, a Community Interest Company registered in England & Wales, Company no. 11688215. Registered office: Sneinton Market Unit 6, Suite 59, Gedling Street, Nottingham, NG1 1DS.