Funding the Country Trust: Connecting children to the land that sustains us all

This summer National Garden Scheme Ambassador, gardener and TV presenter Danny Clarke, joined the children at Ghyllgrove Primary School, Essex to see the impacts of our funding for the Country Trust’s Food Discovery programme first hand.

Food Discovery is a series of hands on lessons looking at food and farming from seed to plate. There are growing sessions, cooking sessions, a market where food is made to sell and a visit to a local working farm where children connect what they have learned to real world examples.

For Danny, it was a fantastic experience, “The passion has been unbelievable; witnessing the children eulogizing about what they have done in the garden has been amazing.”

“The children have learned so much, from planting and cooking, parent sessions and farm visits, connecting more deeply with food and farming. None of it would have been possible without the Country Trust,” adds teacher Miss Heslin.

Head of Year Group, Mr Collins says, “Hands on learning is vital – giving children the opportunity to see and feel and touch what they are learning about, getting their hands in the ground and watching things grow.”

“We need to have more programmes and partnerships like this,” adds Danny. “It’s vital for children to connect with nature – not just from a growing point of view but it’s good for the mind, good for the body and good for the soul.”

Watch the video here: