Gardening guru gets her hands dirty

Children in the East of England have the chance to get their hands dirty and transform their school gardens with the help of a new school gardening advisor, courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

Alison Findlay, from Suffolk, is the first school gardening guru to take up the new role, where she will be working with around 200 hundred schools across the Eastern region, to help teachers teach children about growing plants and encourage a new generation of gardeners.

Her role, funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, is part of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, which was launched in September last year. With 2000 schools already signed up, the campaign aims to encourage schools across the UK to get growing, demonstrating the value of gardening in enriching the curriculum, teaching life skills and contributing to the mental and physical health of school children.

The Campaign for School Gardening provides resources and curriculum-based lesson plans to help all schools make the most of gardening to deliver the curriculum, whether they have an established garden or are thinking about growing in containers in the playground.

All the information and help provided online at Rhs.org.uk/schoolgardening is backed up by support from the RHS education team, including a programme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) days and access to regional advisors who will be phased in across the UK from 2008. After registering via the campaign website, schools can progress through the RHS benchmarking system with rewards and recognition at each stage.

Alison said: “I am very excited about my new role and I bring to it a love of gardening that began in childhood and blossomed after studying Botany at Sheffield University.

“Through my children at primary school, I have been involved in developing the school grounds for outdoor learning - creating a willow tunnel, planting wild flower meadows and growing vegetables in raised beds constructed by volunteers. The rewards for the children are great and ongoing – first hand experience of where food comes from, a fun and more stimulating play area, caring for the natural world and experiencing the seasons.”

Danyal Sattar, Head of Environment at the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, said: "For us, the organisational strength and expertise of the RHS combined with the enthusiasm, dedication and knowledge of the volunteers, made this a cracking project to support. At Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, we are delighted to see it get off to such a good start."

Alison is the first of 12 advisors that will be employed across the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Island. She will be based at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Essex, but will be visiting schools throughout the Eastern region to advise them on setting up school garden projects and offering training to school staff, from teachers and teaching assistants to parent helpers.

Alison added: “I hope I can inspire teachers to get gardening! By equipping them with the gardening skills they need, their school grounds can be developed into a valuable teaching resource.

“I will also be searching out volunteers to support the RHS Campaign for School Gardening Campaign and as a school volunteer, I know the rewards this can bring.”

Schools interested in receiving advice can contact Alison at schoolgardeningeast@rhs.org.uk.