Edible Playground  
             
  Children in four Dorset schools have had their hands in the soil and forks in the salad as part of the Edible Playground project, a special project run by Screen Bites. It was inspired by The Edible Schoolyard – which is run by the Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Foundation in the United States. The stated aim of the Edible Schoolyard is ‘to bring children into a new relationship with food.’
click here to visit the Gardens Group website

click here to visit the Chalk and Cheese website
  
             
  Early in the summer term 2007, parts of these Dorset schools’ playgrounds were dug up and given over to growing plants donated by project sponsors. Children zealously watered the seedlings over the following weeks and while the plants grew, the young gardeners learned about local and seasonal food with project co-ordinator Nichola Motley and educationalist Helen Day. Children were fascinated to investigate the contents of a broad bean pod and all wanted to try a raw bean. They sniffed things in pots – identifying foods by their smell (strawberries, ‘mmmm’, mackerel ‘yuc!’) and had to guess the vegetable by the feel of it. They had fun and were all keen to taste what they were learning about. All sorts of vegetables were nibbled on and one pupil reported later how the day after the session he had made his mum buy and cook broad beans for him.

The pupils of Witchampton First School in East Dorset sowed seeds in pots at the Long Crichel garden with gardener Anni Sax. They took the pots back to school but first they then went over to the Long Crichel bakery to learn about bread baking and fill a fresh roll with leaves from the garden. Anni’s salad leaves also made their way to Beaucroft School where children created individual salad bowls with their own choice of toppings including herbs, toasted seeds, and best of all parmesan shavings. Ian Simpson, proprietor of the White House Hotel brought along some delicious things from his own kitchen (including elderflower vinegar, balsamic syrup and basil oil) to Charmouth School in West Dorset. Pupils had already picked salad leaves and herbs they had grown in their raised beds and Ian showed them how to combine these with what he had brought along. The word ‘salad’ took on a new meaning, everyone grabbed a fork and not a scrap of food was left at the end of the session.

Work will start with Thornford School in West Dorset in the autumn and will continue at all the schools into 2008 with more growing cookery workshops and some farm visits. Children who have been involved with the project will also be encouraged to communicate with their American vegetable-growing counterparts who have been part of the Edible Schoolyard programme.		  
             
     
             
   
 
             
  These were all taken at Beaucroft school - we were learning about vegetables. The children explored a broad bean and were delighted by the experience and amazed by cutting into veg. They also enjoyed a smell test - a taste test (in season were the first sour gooseberries and early raspberries). They tasted new things and liked them! The blond curls belong to Anni Sax who runs the Long Critchel walled garden. I am the other adult - project coordinator.  
             
 
             
     
             
  Meanwhile, the other half of the Beaucroft class were planting up the vegetables they had been given by the Castle Garden Group with the help of Anni Sax and Beaucroft teacher Shirley Lewis.  
             
 
             
     
             
 
 
 
             
     
             
  Moving on to Charmouth School in West Dorset (Beaucroft is a special school in Wimborne). First the digging, then the planting/sewing, then the watering and then the picking.... all seeds and herbs donated by the Castle Gardens group.  
             
 
             
     
             
     
             
     
             
  And the picking happened on the day that Ian Simpson from the White House Hotel in Charmouth, came in bringing lots of lovely salad dressings (like basil oil and elderflower vinegar) and other salady things and showed the children how to make four different salads - not a morsel was left at the end of the session!  
             
 
             
 
 
 
             
 
   
             
  And finally at Witchampton School (near Wimborne) the children, having spend a morning sewing seeds at the Long Critchel walled garden and making bread in the bakery opposite, learned about veg with the feel quiz, tasting, smelling. Assembly was devoted to produce that day.  
             
 
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