Myra Heller with Year 3 at Newington Green

Interesting session on 25th November with the children. It's as if they have finally 'got' the concept of the 'outdoor classroom'. Much to my surprise and delight, I find that they actually like spending at least half their sessions recording their observations in their books with drawings and writing, because I expected them to want to be physically active the whole time and to find it hard to note down (some of them find it very hard to focus) their observations and learning. We have been writing weather reports the last two sessions and for some of those who find it hard to write, I have been asking them just to think of four words that sum up the weather. They have all tried hard and are understanding the value of their own looking and deducting, which is, of course, the beginning of empirical scientific study and therefore very satisfying as a learning process. We were looking at evergreens and deciduous trees and shrubs as a follow-on from hibernation and dormancy. Year 3 looked at the new buds about to break through on the apple and plum trees that are going in the new mini orchard and they planted blackcurrant and raspberry bushes.

Pictures from the Harvest Celebration at Newington Green Primary School

Year 3s at Newington Green Primary School with Myra Heller

We did hibernation and photoperiodism (though I did NOT try to get them to remember that word!). In other words, thinking about winter and cold and shorter days. So they related the wearing of coats and warm clothes to animals getting thicker furs and fattening up for winter, e.g. their central heating and shelter being leaves and holes. We also looked at this with regard to plants and planted some bulbs, covering them up in soil over winter.

We also discussed a little about how some plants and seeds actually needed to get cold and then hot to know it's spring again and to grow. They also can read the daylight length which is fascinating but a little too complicated! All this will be repeated gradually when we see the evidence in Spring.

We have bought a small self fertilizing Cox's Orange Pippin and a damson tree to put in the little orchard next to the nursery. The children continue to fill their garden notebooks. I am delighted with our little shed, and we have made a little picket fence rather proudly out of recycled pallets and decking found on the premises.

Newington Green Primary School workshops at King Henry's Walk Garden

"It was really fun today - playing games and making insects."

"I like this, I've never done it before!" (while making insects out of conkers, seeds, sticks etc)

"Mine's called a Conqueror (or Conkerer!)" - on making an insect out of a conker

"My favourite bit was sucking up nectar like a bee with the squirty thing" (pipette).

"Can I come here with my Mum and Dad on Saturday?"

"Can I be a fox and chase rabbits? I got eaten coz I was grass last time," while playing food chain games.

"I can't choose, I like everything" - on being asked what the day's favourite activity had been.

Hanover School at Culpeper Garden

Our session was on food chains and the kids made some lovely mobiles. Kirstie Mogilner asked the kids what they liked about The Garden Classroom sessions at Culpeper Garden. Charlotte liked digging. Elesha liked sowing seeds and found the different sizes “really interesting”. Mohammed liked digging, holding insects, and gardening. He might become a gardener when he grows up so that he can “grow potatoes and make chips and carrots”. Otto is “sort of” eating more vegetables now that he is growing his own. Petra liked looking at the minibeasts everywhere. Rodja liked looking in the pond. When asked where he came in the food chain Tommy stated that humans were at the end and “were the most dangerous predator that there is”.

Edible Islington at Culpeper Community Garden

Kirstie Mogilner, TGC facilitator at Culpeper on Tuesday afternoons, said after the workshop on 6th October:
We had a really good session today on food chains. Here are some photos from Culpeper - harvesting, planting, pond dipping and making food chain mobiles. Year 4 pupil Lula declared excitedly today: "We are scientists now!" One pupil promised that although he doesn't eat vegetables he will try some that he's grown himself.

Myra Heller at Newington Green Primary School. After School Gardening Club

Hugo, who is Spanish, and Can, who is Turkish, came to garden club this Tuesday. They are Year 6 boys and are great funds of knowlege. Can(pronounced Jan) is fantastic on plants and gardening and he told me about his huge family garden in Turkey which he sees around three times a year. We discussed the different names for plants in their languages and he wrote the names for some of them in my Mathew Biggs Fruit and Veg book. I told him how so many of our familiar plants and veg originated from his part of the world, Turkey and Iran: roses, lavender, tulips, vines, fig and olive and how the ancient Romans took so many of them round their Empire with them because they were so valuable for food, medicine and also for their beauty.

I am hoping that they make a photographic record of what they learn so that they can present an assembly about it, maybe in late spring when we have some more material.

Myra Heller at Newington Green Primary School. Curriculum time gardening

I took the Year 3s outside for the second time with their books/diaries (about which they seem very excited) and just tested them a bit on what they had remembered from last week when we had an introductory tour of their playground gardens and the plants growing in them. They have a 'Mediterranean' area there: big concrete tubs now housing a fig tree, herbs, citrus and an olive tree. I asked them to smell lots of plants, apart from the obvious: lavender etc. also tomato leaves, and, because it was a unseasonably hot day, the fig which wafts, faintly, the smell of coconut. We looked at the beautiful sweet chestnut trees they have in the playground and when I asked them what they were they all yelled 'conker!' 'Not quite,' I said, 'it's a cousin, the sweet chestnut, you'll never forget that now will you?'

Today we went up to the chestnut trees and I said, 'what are these again?' and they all yelled 'coconut!' Oh well, I can't fault them on enthusiasm.

They planted pea seeds, which indeed are not great for this time of the year ... but ... it is very warm and we're experimenting to see how big we can get them to grow before it gets too cold and then we can pick them and eat the pea shoots.

We are soon to put in some garlic, spinach and chard and see how they fare over winter. Last time I overwintered chard in a school garden it did very well and they ate it in mid-spring.

The green house on the roof next to the library is still to be completed. I'm looking forward to getting in there and trying some propagation.

They squealed with horror and delight at the worms, leather jackets, spiders and worms they found, and wanted to take them home as pets.

Note from The Garden Classroom:
Newington Green Premises Manager Terry Hayes commented, 'The children really enjoy the classes they do with Myra Heller and they all look so happy while they are doing it.'

Kids' thoughts on Edible Islington

Comments from some of the St Jude's and St Paul's pupils at the first few sessions ...

Yuliana - "I love woodlice"
Eman - "I don't want to leave - I love nature"
Dylan - "My snail's done a poo!"
Esana - "That is so wicked!" (on seeing a dragonfly nymph attack a water boatman)
Ben - "Look, it's got gills!" (looking at a baby newt)
Jacob - "I'm going to stick to you like a slug so I don't have to go" (on being told they're not coming back this term)

Visit to Newington Green Primary School by Charles Dowding

On September 16th Charles Dowding also visited Newington Green to talk to Year 4 pupils about growing vegetables and fruit.

When tasting Charles's leaves they said:
"This is delicious!" (lettuce)
"This is a bit spicy" (wild rocket) - Tillie

Even the teacher learned something new, asking "What is that frilly green leaf?". Charles replied "mustard", to which the teacher responded "I like that, I've never tried it before".

When Charles asked "Does anyone know what a polytunnel is?", the answer from a Year 4 pupil was clear: "It's like a greenhouse but it's a tunnel".

Charles Dowding at Hanover Primary School

Charles Dowding, grower of organic salad leaves and other vegetables visited Hanover Primary School on September 16th.

Year 4s listening to Charles talk about growing vegetables and fruit, local food, and the watercycle

When asked for adjective words to describe the taste of the leaves (endives, lettuce, basil, rocket, etc) the children said:

Helena, tasting endive: "it's bitter and spicy"

Tushian (endive): "hot and juicy"

William (basil): "pesto!". Teacher David Rosenberg: "that's not an adjective, it's a noun!"

Comments and questions from Hanover's Year 4s (aged 8) to Charles:

"My mum is growing tomatoes and peppers, and the peppers are really hot"

"I have a flower at home that has died. Should I take it out and use the same pot and soil to plant rocket?"

"Do you grow venus fly traps?"

"At my grandma's house in Cyprus she's growing pomegranates and lemons"

"At my grandma's house in Dulwich she has a really big garden; she grows plums, strawberries, apples and green beans"

Cali tastes wild rocket for the first time

Mohammed tries some salad

St Jude's & St Paul's Primary School

Year 4s growing vegetables in raised beds at their school with Dina Jung on 14th September. Look at the tomatoes!

Hanover School's 'Farm Shop' in July

Onsite at Newington Green Primary School with Myra Heller

Wednesday 8 July was great. I had a really good time with the children exploring, observing and putting in our books drawing and writing about all the different kinds of seeds and seedpods they could find (backing up the seed workshops at King Henry's Walk Garden). I also brought some seeds in for the children and they had to examine them quite carefully, counting the sections etc. We also tested some helicopters (sycamore seeds) to try and understand why they are so efficient at dispersal and they found lots of baby sycamores to prove the point about why they are considered weeds (very successful!).
We looked at sweet pea seeds and touched them to see how incredibly hard they are and pine cones and we looked at ivy and Virginia creeper to understand how they spread (curling tendrils, gripping stem suckers) and some of them drew them.
They made seed envelopes from folded card to take home to collect from home some seeds from fruit or vegetables they eat or someone else in their family eats (homework).
I hope we can do some giant blow-up models of seed pods (poppies are good) out of wire, cane and tissue paper at a later date.

Hanover Primary School with Camilla Baker

The first group from Hanover visited Culpeper garden in June. Everyone loved the smells of bay, rosemary and coriander. We tasted mustard leaves. They look like lettuce, but are a surprise when you taste them - they are very fresh and sharp.
Charlotte recognised broad beans that were in flower, and Rojda explained why another broad bean plant already had fully grown beans on. Artie knew that onions grew underground - but no one recognised the potato plants!
Bertie learnt to grow seeds, carefully picking up one at a time. Charles, Jotha and Otto planted nasturtiums, spacing them out neatly in a line. Tommy said he didn't like carrots - I hope we can change his mind, when he tastes ones he has grown himself!
Everyone had a pot to take home - please remember to keep the soil moist, and let us know when the seedlings start to show.