Come on, get growing (From Worcester News)

Come on, get growing

11:38am Monday 26th September 2011 in Gardening

TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh is calling on all schools to get their grown-ups growing as part of a nationwide event organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.

It forms part of the RHS’s Campaign for School Gardening, supported by Waitrose – a national initiative that encourages schools to create gardens, teach the skills of growing and in turn enable their pupils to learn outside the classroom.

Each October schools are invited to hold a Grown-ups Growing event so they can involve their local community to help develop the school garden. Grandparents, parents, carers and friends are invited to help.

Titchmarsh, leading supporter of the campaign, said: “It is no secret that school was never my favourite place and my interests lay outside the classroom, often in the allotment with my grandfather. But today it’s a very different world.

“The fact that schools have really cottoned on to the benefits of gardening with their pupils is fantastic news, especially for children who are looking for different ways to learn, like I was.

“If we can encourage parents and the wider community to get involved with their school garden, then who knows, we might end up with a green revolution both at home and at school.”

Activities suggested for event organisers include tool swaps, taste tests of produce grown in schools or alternatively locallygrown fruit and veg, a range of gardening classes and even a mini garden show.

Schools with gardens can encourage adults within the community to help develop new areas such as a wildlife garden or help construct raised beds. A Get Your Grown-ups Growing event can also see adults passing on their gardening experience to children by helping them sow seeds, plant trees and assist in weeding. For schools without gardens it’s the ideal opportunity to involve adults in the community from the beginning to establish some form of gardening facility in the school.

For both types of schools the event can even be used to raise funds through plant sales and raffles. Of the schools that held an event last year, 74 per cent said it had increased their children's interest in gardening, while more than half reported an increase in adult support and adult interest in gardening.

Jacky Chave, RHS strategic schools manager, says: “Having a school garden is a fantastic asset for teachers and pupils as it provides a multitude of learning opportunities, but we know it can take a lot of hard work to maintain.

“By involving parents and other adults, through an event like Get Your Grown-ups Growing, we hope that school gardens will be looked after all year round and enthusiasm for gardening and growing will spread beyond the school gates and into children’s homes.”

The RHS hopes to see 2,000 schools register for this year’s Get Your Grown-ups Growing event, double last year’s figure. All registered schools will be entered into a free prize draw to win garden tools and materials.

To register, schools must sign up to the RHS Campaign for School Gardening at rhs.org.uk/gygg and click on the Get Your Grown-ups Growing button on the home page.

Schools which register will receive a free support pack including seeds, event ideas, information templates, stickers and more. Each school can choose any date in October to hold its event and organise activities to suit its requirements.