Pupils dig their gardening club Jun 24 2004
Jenny Rees, The Western Mail
PUPILS at Usk Church in Wales Primary School are proving that gardening is no
longer just for grown-ups who want to escape to the allotment.
Under the guidance of parent governor, Kay Peacock, their organic vegetable
and flower garden was started just under a year ago, and the gardening club,
established this term, is oversubscribed by three times the number of children
expected to join.
Kay, who works as a dinner lady at the school and oversees the garden project
on a voluntary basis, said, "I was talking to some children and asked where
carrots came from. One said Tesco's and I nearly fell through the floor.
"I thought, let's do some- thing, applied for Agenda 21 funding and got it."
Being part of the local community is very much the school ethos, and the
garden reflects this. The local Rotary Club donated £300 for gardening
equipment
and inmates at the nearby open prison, HM Prescoed, made the raised beds for
the organic vegetables.
"There are seven beds, each named after a continent. It helps the pupils with
their geography and it helps them identify the correct vegetables and beds.
We have got more than 20 different vegetables growing, including carrots,
parsnips, courgettes, cucumbers, potatoes, broad beans, water melon and gourds.
There is also a wide range of flowers being cultivated," said Kay.
"The aim is to sell the vegetables to the parents and teachers and the funds
will go back into the garden. I also want to let the children taste the
vegetable in its raw state and then when it is cooked," added Kay.
The project encourages the pupils as active participants and helps them in
the study of national curriculum subjects such as science, nutrition,
citizenship, PSHE - personal, social and health education, conservation and
sustainability.
Jon Murphy, headteacher at Usk, is very supportive of the garden.
"Education isn't all about books, it is very much about learning skills for
life and children are motivated and stimulated when there are opportunities to
work outside of the classroom," he said.
"This brings learning to life and gives education a relevance."
Within a couple of weeks, the membership of the new gardening club for Years
3 to 6, had reached 130. Not only do pupils have responsibility for the
organic garden, but they are now planting all the flower beds in the school
grounds,
as well as developing the school woodland walk with tree seeds they collected
themselves.
"Their enthusiasm just blew me away. I never expected so many children to
join the club. They are so keen we have now entered the Wales in Bloom
competition," added Kay.
