Barnoldswick pupils dig growing their own veg (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Barnoldswick pupils dig growing their own veg

1:20pm Wednesday 24th June 2009

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GREEN-fingered children are growing vegetables for their school kitchen as part of a pioneering scheme.

The ‘Can You Dig It’ gardening club, made up of pupils from West Craven High Technology College, in Barnoldswick, was launched after Morrisons ‘Let’s Grow’ vouchers paid for tools and seeds.

Local police officers then lent the project their support by securing a £500 grant from the Rank Foundation, which was spent on a greenhouse, bench, tools, plants, compost and a water butt to recycle rainwater.

The club has gone from strength-to-strength with its members having increased from three to 15 children now attending weekly sessions.

The project began with Year Seven’s Billy Towers, Francesca Williams and Georgina Parker removing turf and digging over the ground.

Year Nine pupils Jack Halstead and James Sheph-erd then joined in, helping to build the greenhouse.

Children have worked in teams, planting tomatoes, lettuce, pumpkins, sunflow-ers, nasturtiums, onions, cabbages, and radishes They take the produce home to their familes and Robert Townson, a maths teacher at the school and project organiser, also hopes some of the vegetables will be used in the school kitchen.

He said: “The main aim of the project is to get the children involved in something other than sitting in the classroom.”

“It’s very much a hands-on project for the kids.

“The fact that we’ll be able to share the produce with the local residents is a bonus.”

‘Can You Dig It’ is part of the police partnership with the school to try to improve relationships between young people and the wider community.

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