Our allotment began with four metre square raised beds and a delivery of topsoil. Seeds and seedlings were donated by our families and the vegetable garden was born. There are now nine raised beds, with each class assuming responsibility for one, while the others are tended largely by Environment Club. An impressive range of vegetables are grown from seed each year, with the produce adding eco interest in the dining hall at dinnertime, or being used in cookery sessions. Several sturdy apple trees, stalks of rhubarb, a raspberry bed and strawberry bed, and a shed for all of our tools and plant pots, complete the picture. Each year willing parents and grandparents have supported our children with some of the trickier tasks.
Through the allotment we are able to learn firsthand about growth cycles, minibeast habitats, the carbon footprints of foods, changing shopping habits, contributory causes of Global Warming and so on… stimulating enthusiastic discussion!