Welcome to the March 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.

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The sight of daffodils bursting from the earth and blossom appearing on the trees tells us that the longer, warmer days of spring are almost upon us. This is obviously an extremely exciting and busy time of year for the farming community.

There’s much for farmers to do in the spring as many of the winter crops are still being harvested. These include winter cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, kale, cabbage, leek, parsnip, swede and sprouting broccoli.

In addition, after spending the dark winter months planning for the new season, it’s now time to put those plans into action and sow a variety of new crops. Some, including runner bean, summer cabbage, calabrese, summer cauliflower, celery, lettuce, onion and tomato, can be sown indoors in pots. Others can be sown directly outdoors, including broad bean, beetroot, early carrot, spring onion, pea, mangetout, radish and spinach.

If you are inspired to get growing this spring, now is the time to start digging! If you haven’t yet developed your own school garden, then why not have a go? For further information and advice on setting up a school garden see the following section.

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Setting up a school garden

A school garden can prove to be an extremely effective teaching resource for both KS3 and KS4 students. By developing a detailed plan for sowing and planting, the garden can provide the necessary materials for children to conduct specific experiments throughout the school year, particularly in relation to programmes of study for science.

Duchy Originals Garden Organic for Schools is a nationwide campaign that helps children to grow fruit and vegetables at school and learn more about their food. Their website provides a wealth of information which has been designed to help schools establish their own school garden. This material can be found within the Teaching Zone section of the website at: www.organicgardening.org.uk/schools_organic_network/t_zone

While visiting the website you could also find out about Garden Organic’s Heritage seed offer, which provides schools with the opportunity to obtain seeds for six different varieties of unusual vegetables. By growing these vegetables and saving the seeds, schools could ultimately help to preserve each of these endangered varieties. For further details visit: www.gardenorganic.org.uk/schools_organic_network/news

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To incorporate the theme ’Growing’ into the curriculum, organise a series of lessons around the topic ’Fertilisers’.

  • Introduce the topic by defining the term ’fertiliser’ and explaining why farmers put them on their crops. Consider natural as well as artificial fertilisers.
  • Ask the students to use the internet to research which minerals are present in fertilisers and what the different minerals do to help stimulate plant growth. Extend this to consider the symptoms of different mineral deficiencies in plants.
  • As an extension to this activity, you could demonstrate how to make a fertiliser in a practical science lesson. This involves neutralising an alkali with an acid, evaporating the solution and filtering off the crystals.
  • Alternatively, students could research the arguments for and against the use of artificial fertilisers in farming. They could then write up their findings in the form of an information leaflet, or you could organise a class debate regarding the pros and cons of using artificial fertilisers.

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Spring Fling

On Thursday 27th March the Norfolk Showground plays host to Spring Fling 2008. This is an ideal event for children to let off steam during the Easter Holidays while learning more about food, farming and the countryside. Admission is £5 and includes a hog roast lunch or vegetarian option and a drink. All tickets must be pre-booked and are available from the Royal Norfolk Show office (telephone: 01603 748 931). For further information visit: www.royalnorfolkshow.co.uk/springhome

St George’s Day School Poetry Competition

To celebrate the Year of Reading and the Year of Food and Farming, children are being invited to write a poem about what food and farming means to them. The poem could be about local food, the farmers who produce it, the beautiful English countryside, or one of England’s fantastic chefs – anything that makes food and farming special. There are two age categories: one for children in Years 4, 5 and 6, and the other for children in Years 7, 8 and 9. Entries must be submitted through a school using the official form which is available at: www.celebratestgeorgesday.com/content/view
The closing date for entries is 23 May 2008 and the winners will be announced on 23 June 2008.

CookIt! and CookIt-WriteIt!

The Guild of Food Writers is looking for budding young cooks, aged between 10 and 14, to create a two course family meal for a special occasion using mainly fresh and healthy ingredients. The main course and pudding should serve between two and four people and cost a maximum of £20 to make. Recipes should also take no longer than 1 hour 30 minutes to prepare and cook.

A second competition for young food writers has also been introduced by the Guild this year. CookIt-WriteIt! is open to entrants aged between 15 and 18, and requires them to compose a 750 word piece on any food related subject, such as a trip to a farmer’s market, an experience in a restaurant or a description of a favourite food or meal. The panel of judges is looking for a lively descriptive piece that shows a genuine interest in and knowledge of food.

The closing date for entries to the ’Cook It!’ competition is 7 April 2008, while entrants to the CookIt-WriteIt! competition have until 21 April 2008 to submit their entries. For further information on both competitions visit the Guild of Food Writers website at: www.gfw.co.uk/children

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Free seeds for schools

The BBC has added to its successful Breathing Places campaign with the launch of the first ’Do One Thing’ activity which is aimed directly at schools. The idea is that all schools can do something to encourage and support wildlife even if they have limited space and have never done any activities of this kind before. The main activity for the spring term of 2008 is planting for wildlife and schools are being invited to register free on the BBC website to access activity sheets, packs of flower seeds, teachers’ notes and instructions, and other materials that can help them to start creating havens for wildlife around their school. Visit the BBC website to find out more at: www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/schools

Although the five seeds are all flowers (sunflower, corn poppy, pot marigold, cornflower and borage) all have been used in some way in cooking or for herbal/medicinal purposes. FACE (Farming and Countryside Education) has been a lead partner in the development of this project and they have added some new pages to the biodiversity section of their website at: www.face-online.org.uk/biodiversity

Food comes from the supermarket, right?

Is your school interested in visiting a farm? If so, a new resource is now available from the Food for Life Partnership which explains why reconnecting young people with where their food comes from is so important. This leaflet and poster, called ’Food comes from the supermarket, right?’, also explains why such a visit would be so much fun! Order your free copy today by emailing: [email protected]

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Consumer confidence in food safety issues is on the rise

The Food Standards Agency’s eighth annual Consumer Attitudes to Food Survey points to increased confidence among the public with regards to the food they consume. Since the initial survey in 2000, the proportion of consumers voicing concerns about issues such as additives, food poisoning and general food safety had remained relatively steady. However, this latest survey, conducted during August to October 2007, reported a significant dip. The proportion of consumers with concerns about additives, for instance, fell to 35% from 38% in 2006, while concern over food poisoning and GM foods was down to 36% from 42% and 20% from 25% respectively.

The survey also revealed a number of other encouraging trends, particularly relating to increased awareness and claimed consumption of ’five-a-day’. Indeed, the research found that 78% of all consumers are now aware that they should be eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day, while 58% claimed to be putting this advice into practice. In addition, 90% of respondents claimed that healthy eating was important to them and 87% also believed that a limited budget is not a barrier to healthy eating.

Source: Food Standards Agency, 24/2/08

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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:

North Cumbria Technology College

Food plays an important part in the education of students at North Cumbria Technology College through food technology and the school garden. Development of the school’s vegetable garden and Year 7 garden has provided the basis for a range of culinary experiences with students encouraged to use fresh ingredients to produce a variety of interesting dishes. At the annual garden party, for instance, students made great use of fresh herbs in their cheese and rosemary scones and basil and tomato bruschetta, while fresh strawberries from the garden were used to make strawberry tarts. The students love the whole experience of cooking with ingredients from their own garden and seeing their enthusiasm helps teachers enjoy their job of teaching even more.

Food is also a brilliant medium for developing cross-curricular links. The students have not only enjoyed developing their garden in their tutorial lessons, using their ingredients in their food technology lessons and writing about it in their English lessons, but have also gained a wealth of experience covering a whole range of other curricular areas.

https://www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk/spaces/north-cumbria-technology-college/School

Lampton School

Lampton School provides a Flexible Learning Programme aimed mainly at Year 11 students who, for a variety of reasons, need a more flexible approach to education. These students are given the opportunity to participate in a wider range of experiences, designed to enhance their ability to move on to the next stage of their education, whether that be in the workplace or further education. The Flexible Learning Group has one day a week work experience where pupils participate in a team-building course consisting of various activities such as rowing and boxing. They also learn a variety of life skills, including cooking. The group is also looking at where food comes from, how to plan healthy meals, how to shop effectively, budgeting and, most importantly, having fun with food!

The school is also in the process of preparing a site where students can grow food in conjunction with the History Department. The idea is that the students will then be able to ’Dig for Victory’ as part of their Second World War studies.

www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk/spaces/lampton/School

Groby Community College

Year 10 and 11 students on vocational/flexible curriculum are developing an allotment after raising the money to clear and secure an area of land. Fundraising continues in order to buy tools and equipment, and this project is still very much considered to be work in progress. However, the students have managed to grow a range of vegetables including runner beans, tomatoes, squash, leeks and cabbages in the past year. The teachers feel that the project provides students with the opportunity to learn more about where their food comes from, as well as helping them to develop practical, communication and teamwork skills.

www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk/spaces/grobycoll/School

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Strawberries contain a chemical called phytochrome that tells them how long the day is and whether it is day or night. Source: www.gardenorganic.org.uk

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