10 years ago, most Irish gardens were for looking at or relaxing in. Now, gardening is back and new hubs are emerging, places where people are getting their hands dirty in the name of fresh food.
These include allotments, GIY (Grow It Yourself) gatherings, and, increasingly, school gardens.
Thousands of schools have done some growing in the last three years, thanks to the Meet the Spuds and Incredible Edibles initiatives. These yearly Agri-Aware schemes provided full growing kits to over 2000 schools.
One school growing with a difference is the Kilskyre National School, between Kells and Oldcastle in Co. Meath. This is one of the few schools to have gone and achieved full organic certification.
Gerard Ruane has been principal of the school since 2007.
(picture: Daryll, Katie Conor supervised by organic gardener Lill Coyne)
The beginnings were modest: � I hoped to plant a few rows of vegetables and hoped that I would be able to get a parent to give me a hand with this so I started the Green School Initiative in Kilskyre when I was began here�
Ruane was informed that the parent of a girl in 5th class would be a great help � Lill Coyne. Coyne has been an organic grower and member of IOFGA since the 1980s.
�We took the children to see the garden in St. Patrick's National School Slane, my old school. Mary Meade, the Deputy Principal there, created a fantastic garden - I was anxious for the children to see it as Mary created this garden with the children�.
�We then visited another school, Rathkenny, who have a fantastic garden that the children were also fully involved in. We went back to Kilskyre and Lill got all the children to design the garden they wanted. Lill collected these and merged them into one design combining all the elements the children had suggested. We started from there.�
�We started out by creating a fedge - the older children dug out sods and the children created a sod bank in which we planted willows�.
He continues: �Every Thursday the children I teach bring in wellies and old clothes. The Parent's Council bought the children tools - wheelbarrow, spades, forks and so on�.
�There is a summer/winter/autumn/spring garden. We have bug hotel, pond, wormery, composting pig, green cone, composting area for grass, wild garden, seating area. The main focus initially was feeding the soil and companion planting for pest control, as well as managing nutrients in the soil�.
There has been great parental and wider community involvement, exemplified by equipment donations, meitheals three times a year, and a burgeoning range of amenities, including bird viewing boxes and benches.
�As we are organic, Lill decided to apply for the license. We have been inspected and the inspector was amazed at the children's knowledge and full involvement in the garden�.
I spoke to Lill Coyne about their organic certification: �I'm an organic grower myself - I feel very strongly about it, and I thought it would be great for the children to have the chance to grow organically. They have access to clean, cheaper food that's healthier. They also get exercise, learn about heritage varieties and traditional methods, and about biodiversity and the balance of nature through things like the use of natural predators�.
�The work in the garden comes under Environmental Awareness and Care in the Geography and Science Curriculum�according to Gerard Ruane. �We also use it for Science nature trails, plant study and so on. There is a diary kept where the children write in what they do each day after they come in from the garden.�
Not only have the pupils grown food, they have learned the practical skills of packing, certification, labelling, and also selling. The produce has been sold, by the pupils, at local farmers' markets and at the school gate. This in itself imparts array of practical life skills, from doing calculations to running a business that relies on good customer relations.
Great stuff indeed, it surely begs the question: why isn't all education a little more like this?
No comments:
Post a Comment