January Secondary Newsletter
Welcome to the January issue of the secondary newsletter intended especially
for teachers and pupils. Please pass on any ideas or information that you find
useful to parents and carers too.
Reminder to all registered schools! Have you updated your Space on
our website recently? Please let us know everything you are doing for the Year
of Food and Farming by sharing news on your Space. Don’t forget you can
inspire other schools to get involved too.
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Seasonal news
Still clocking up the food miles
With winter biting hard, a stroll round the supermarket will reveal that a large proportion of the fresh fruit and vegetables currently on the shelves is imported produce. This has led to growing concerns regarding the increasing number of food miles and the impact this is having on the environment.
The latest Government figures have shown that almost one-third more food was flown into Britain during 2006 than in the previous 12 month period. Overall, there was a 5 per cent increase in carbon dioxide emissions from all food transport between 2005 and 2006. In spite of this rise, the Government has reiterated its commitment to reducing the social and environmental impact of food miles by 20 per cent by 2012.
If you would like to do your bit to reduce food miles, look for seasonal home-grown produce in the supermarket. Fruit and vegetables currently in season include onions, potatoes, cabbage, swede, carrots, turnips, spinach, leeks, parsnips, shallots, squash, cabbage, ‘end of season’ apples and pears, and ‘forced’ rhubarb.
Alternatively, you could try growing your own seasonal vegetables in the school garden. You could try planting carrots, broad beans, peas, cauliflowers, radishes, asparagus and herbs towards the end of the month if you can plant out under glass or in cloches which face south. In addition, you could plant out onions and potatoes in trays if you can store them in a frost-free, dry shed.
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A great start!
Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2008 – January 20th to 26th
Farmhouse Breakfast Week is an annual campaign that emphasises the importance of eating a healthy breakfast every day. The campaign is organised by the Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA). This year’s theme, ‘A Great Start!’, will emphasise the importance of starting the day with a balanced breakfast as part of a healthy, active lifestyle and making the most of our fantastic regional produce.
To get involved, visit www.farmhousebreakfast.com or call 020 7520 3968 for more information.
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I'm in season!
The Horticultural Development Council (HDC) has published a website which aims to promote seasonal fruit and vegetables – www.iminseason.com. The website is packed with mouth-watering recipes (written by freelance dieticians), photos of all UK produce and amazing factual information. The HDC is a levy body representing UK growers so is non-branded.
Grain Chain!
The Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) and the Flour Advisory Bureau (FAB) have collaborated to produce a new multimedia educational resource called The Grain Chain. It offers children at each Key Stage a fun way to learn about the ‘field to fork’ cycle of how wheat is grown and used to produce flours, breads, breakfast cereals and a wide range of other foods, as well as offering advice on eating for health and vitality. It also provides activity sheets, games and quizzes which cover the key topics of arable farming, milling, baking, cooking and nutrition. Teachers are offered the benefits of interactive whiteboard activities as an additional classroom resource plus a dedicated Teachers’ section to be found at www.grainchain.com.
Growing Schools Conference 2008
7th April 2008, 9.00am–4.30pm
The Growing Schools Conference aims to support all teachers from Early Years through to Secondary who are interested in expanding and improving learning outside the classroom. The day will consist of key note speakers from the outdoor education sector and will be opened by a talk from Chris Beardshaw, designer of the Growing Schools Garden. In addition, there will be a market place made up from many sector partners, as well as a series of workshops which will be run throughout the day.
The cost of the conference is £50, which will include refreshments and lunch. Places are limited and demand is expected to be high, so anyone who is interested should pre-register to avoid disappointment. If you would like to register or are interested in securing a space in the market place for your organisation please email your name, organisation or school, and address to: [email protected].
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Secondary schools round-up
Schools have been telling us about some of the projects that they have set up as part of the Year of Food and Farming. Here’s a selection.
This school is very lucky to have a walled garden on site, left over from a long-gone farm. Pupils at Chichester High School study land-based science and grow crops and flowers. There is a growing group of students who form the Environment Club on Wednesdays after school. Their activities include bird watching, insect hunting, playing with the chickens and rabbits and helping to clear weeds and plant crops. The school has recently been allocated a Wildlife Improvement Grant to further develop the garden and to plant a small orchard. They have lots of support from outside agencies and parents. Pupils sell the produce to teachers and use the money to buy more equipment/seeds. They also use some produce, such as apples, in the school canteen. The school hopes to get more people from the community to use the garden, including local primary schools.
Cardinal Wiseman is a secondary school in Coventry that has a school farm. The farm includes a large pond, hot and cold greenhouses, wildlife and kitchen gardens and a large range of exotic animals. The pupils take the GCSE in Land and Environmental Science and BTEC Animal Care and they use the farm as a curriculum resource, supporting learning outside the classroom. As part of the school’s Rural Dimension they offer a variety of free educational services to primary schools.
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Food and farming in the news this month
Local produce training for chefs
A new training scheme, Fresh Skills for Chefs, is to be launched this month in Kent. The initiative aims to help restaurants, cafes, hotels and other businesses take advantage of the demand for locally-sourced produce. The scheme, which is being run by Tourism South East, will include master classes and visits to local farms and growers. Source: BBC 25/12/07
Junk food ban for TV adverts comes into force
Adverts for unhealthy food and drinks will no longer be allowed between television programmes for under 16s. The restrictions, which were already in place for television shows aimed at children under the age of 10, have now been extended. Adverts between youth-orientated and adult programmes that attract a higher-than-average proportion of viewers under the age of 16 will also be affected. The sanctions, developed by Ofcom in response to rising levels of childhood obesity, affect food and drink high in fat, salt and sugar. Source: The Times 2/1/08
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Practical ideas
The following lesson ideas provide practical suggestions around the theme ‘A healthy breakfast’.
- Students could plan one week’s worth of healthy, nutritious breakfasts. Encourage them to incorporate a range of traditional breakfast ingredients and concentrate on making each meal balanced. If possible, they could then choose one of their breakfast suggestions to cook as part of a D&T Food technology lesson.
- As an extension to this activity, students could find out where the ingredients that they have suggested for their breakfasts grow or are produced as part of a geography lesson. They could also find out how many of the ingredients could be sourced locally, and consider the advantages of using local produce.
- Alternatively, students could research the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast every day. They could then use the information they have found to produce a fact sheet highlighting the advantages, as part of a literacy lesson.
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Amazing facts for January
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have advocated that white mushrooms be elevated to ‘superfood’ status after discovering that they are a prime natural source of the powerful antioxidant, L-Ergothioneine. A handful of white button mushrooms has about 12 times more of the antioxidant than wheat germ and four times more than chicken liver which were previously thought to be the best sources. Source: www.funfacts.com
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