Convent of Jesus and Mary Language College, Brent

What needs did we identify?

We identified the need for students to become more health conscious and play an active role in ensuring healthier lifestyle. However, we decided to introduce a growing club to raise this awareness. The girls need the experience of growing their own fruits and vegetables and have the responsibility of caring for their own vegetables until they are harvested.  

What outcomes did we focus on?

We mainly wanted to focus on growing our own fruits and vegetables which the girls would have used the products to make different dishes in lessons or in the clubs. This was a rewarding opportunity for the students. In addition, they get the opportunity of taking their produce home and sharing it with friends and family.

What activities/ interventions did we put in place?

Club days are on Thursdays at lunch time from 12:40pm-1:30pm.

We had put some interventions in place before we actually started the project. We ran a survey to find out if the school had enough land space to accommodate a garden, found out what tools and equipment we would need, health and safety issues, advertise the project to see how many students would be interested, any extra adult support etc.

The club was advertised through the student’s bulletin on a weekly basis. Girls had to grow seeds in the green room for at least 4-8 weeks then the seedlings were transferred to the garden outside when it started to get warmer. Their weekly activities included: weeding, watering the plants, and checking that the plants are free and safe from insects and animals e.g. foxes.

What did we achieve, and how did we know?

The outcome was successful and we achieved our goal. Students were quite happy and interested in what they were doing. They were keen to take part in using the produce from the garden to make a dish. They made a pasta salad using the produce from the garden- carrot, lettuce, spring onions and beetroot. Later we had tomatoes, courgettes and runner beans. We only had two harvests of the strawberries.

What will we do next?

We are planning to grow a herbal bed for the first part of the winter season. These will be done in the green house. Further down towards the beginning of March we will be sowing some potatoes, carrots, sweet peppers, strawberries, lettuce, beetroot and some more tomatoes.

Headteacher “Gardening is not our whole life, but it makes our life whole”.