According to the RHS, Royal Horticultural Society, “Taking part in gardening can make a child feel happy and boost their development…” Did we really need a research project to tell us that? (Reported by the BBC here.)
Evidently children enjoy gardening and it makes them happier, stronger and more confident. Not only that when children grow food they are more likely to try different vegetables.
Why are we not surprised? Did we really need a survey of 1,300 teachers and 10 schools to confirm what many already knew? Maybe now that it has been proved, ‘scientifically’ more schools will have a garden.
Being of a reasonable age I well remember the school garden at the local secondary school. It was big, maybe around two allotments in size. From the first to fourth years boys were taught horticulture as part of the curriculum. We grew food which went round the corner into the kitchen as fresh ingredients for school dinners.
After nearly 50 years that is such a novel idea it is being reinvented as a way of showing kids where food comes from and as a money saving idea. It also teaches useful skills.
My memory is of the relaxation of gardening in the otherwise tense and overbearing atmosphere of school, so yes it does make kids feel happier.
If I have one plea it is that school gardens should be about growing food, learning where it comes from, learning how to grow it, cook it and eat it. There are so many curriculum links a school food garden could be a real education.
