MAKESHIFT farms are popping up in schools across East Lancashire as part of a groundbreaking project.

Thirty four primary schools in Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale and Hyndburn are taking part in the pop-up-farm project set up by Start Sustainable Burnley and The Prince's Charities.

Children will grow their own vegetables, look after livestock, learn about biodiversity, keeping bees, testing out energy, water and waste saving ideas and planting orchards.

Each school is being given a shed to keep in the school grounds which children, teachers, parents and the wider community can use to grow their own food.

The schools will also contribute a recipe to a cookbook, 'Start Cooking up the Future' which will have quick and easy family meals based on things you could grow in your garden, and is set to be launched in the ASDA Burnley store in the next few months.

The idea is the brainchild of Professor Paul Clarke, founder of Incredible Edible in Todmorden, who said that rather than taking kids to the farm to learn about food, a pop-up farm could be brought to them.

Julie Bradley, head teacher at St Leonards C of E Primary School, Padiham, one of the first to be involved in the scheme, said: “The pop-up-farms have been in the pipeline since autumn, but now it’s coming into growing season they are all about to take off.

“We were approached by Paul Clarke about starting the pop-up-farms and discussed how we could get other schools involved.

“The hope is that all the schools in East Lancashire will eventually have pop-up-farms where children can grow their own food.

“The price of food in supermarkets is reaching an all time high and we want children grow up cultivating their own food as a way of life.”

Mr Clarke said: “Pop-up farms challenge us in unexpected ways and in unexpected places, showing us how easy it is to make little changes that make a big difference, so that we start to change our habits and behaviour and tread more gently on the earth.”