gardening

It is tempting to just say “good thing too” in relation to this article. There is a more fundamental point however about the value of reconnecting people with the rural environment through education. We need to take a good look at how to do this and in the process address the grievous lack of a skilled worker pipeline for many rural professions connected to the land. In the meantime this article tells us:

Urban schools are making more of an effort with their gardens than their rural counterparts, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has said, because children in cities are less likely to have green space at home.

For the first time, every category in the RHS School Gardeners of the Year competition was won by an urban school, as teachers planted vegetables in enterprising places such as on the roof and pushing raised beds onto concrete playgrounds.

Alana Cama, Schools and Groups Programme Manager said: “We know that growing crops is the most popular school gardening activity but I was impressed by how these city schools have really embraced it to inspire themselves and others – from getting parents involved to inspiring their peers and incentivising them to push their own boundaries.

“We know that for many young people in towns and cities school gardening clubs are their only touchpoint to nature. Not only do these serve as spaces to learn about the importance of plants for the environment and wildlife but our work with teachers has also shown that it can improve health and wellbeing as well as educational attainment.