Ep3 | Going back to the land and Food Education

Teaspoon of Soil

Many people in the UK feel they are losing touch with the natural world, while some others don’t know enough about the subject to teach their own children. Alienation from nature makes us lose appreciation and awareness for the real world. But as this month’s guest, Sarah, mentioned in this episode, there is a human instinct in us to be connected to the physical world. So, it’s not surprise to see many people looking for ways to re-connect with nature and seeking a more meaningful life. In Sarah’s case, this meant working in food growing.

In this episode, we will hear all about Sarah’s transition from film-making to horticulture, and how becoming an apprentice for Growing Communities helped her make the move. She will also tell us about her work in educational projects with both adults and children.

The recording and photography of this episode took place in Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, a public green space that provides connection to nature and a community gathering place in the middle of Hackney. I would also like to say thank you to the members of staff of the Garden , they were all very friendly and some even showed interesting in this project.

After the recording of this episode, I tried to find out more about gardening lessons in UK schools. It doesn’t seem very clear to me what the requirements are for a school to have gardening lessons. On the other hand, I found a group of organisations campaigning for gardening and food education at schools. These organisations have produced a mix of teaching resources, projects and awards to support schools to provide children with opportunities to improve their skills. You can find the link for those below.

If anyone reading/listening would like to add more information about this subject, please feel free to contact.

Available also on Itunes and Spotify .

Mentioned on this episode :

Dalston Eastern Curve Garden - http://dalstongarden.org

Growing Communities - https://www.growingcommunities.org

Biodynamic farming - https://www.biodynamic.org.uk

Some campaigners for gardening and food education at schools

https://schoolgardening.rhs.org.uk/home

http://schoolfoodmatters.org

https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/news/school-growing-project-gets-green-light-continue

School gardening

http://growyourownplayground.com/press/

https://www.foodforlife.org.uk

http://www.growinggrub.co.uk

http://www.countrysideclassroom.org.uk

Do Grow by Alice Holden - https://thedobook.co/products/do-grow-start-with-10-simple-vegetables