Hanover visit to Down House, 8 June

On 8 June it was Hanover’s turn to visit the home of Charles Darwin, Down House in Kent, in a carbon-neutral coach. The children (and adults) took compostable packed lunches and a great effort was made by all to include at least 3 of their 5 a day of locally sourced or grown ingredients and to use minimum or recycled / reused containers. Lula and William won the ‘most compostable lunch’ competition.

The Edible Islington team learned about Darwin’s work on bees, pollination, worms and soil. They looked at and discussed Darwin’s kitchen garden and orchard which fed 20 people. On Darwin’s famous ‘sandwalk’ the children were asked to walk through the woodland silently and to look and think only. They wrote down questions and thoughts they had whilst on the walk (see attached). It was a terrific day with plenty of learning. A highlight for Hanover and The Garden Classroom’s Edible Islington project.


Dr Sue Johnson discusses gooseberry sizes in Charles Darwin’s kitchen garden



Elesha looks close up at the leaves in Darwin’s hedgerow



Charlotte and Rojda study seeds from Darwin’s sandwalk



Dr Sue Johnson explains layers of soil and the role of worms in aerating the soil



Taking a look at bees and learning about pollination



Hanover children look at Darwin’s kitchen garden