education project

Healthy Cook Clubs

NEW for 2018 we can visit your school, youth or community group for a Healthy Cook Club workshop and cook together a seasonal and healthy dish to be eaten together at the end of the session (alternatively you could bring your group to our field kitchen at Court Farm in Tillington). We will bring our mobile cookery equipment, all the ingredients and recipe cards to your venue and cook with your group a healthy lunch or dinner. It could be a tasty stir fry, curry, pasta and sauce, soup or pie, all using seasonal and locally grown or reared Herefordshire produce.

Sessions will be ran outside of school time, either as an after-school activity, over weekends or during holidays. Under careful supervision children, young people or families will practice safe knife skills, learn how to wash and prepare a range of vegetables, learn the basics of food hygiene and safety, follow simple recipes, weigh and measure ingredients and master a healthy and budget friendly recipe. At the end of the workshops participants will sit down with GL staff to eat their dish and will be encouraged to eat and talk about the food, ingredients and methods used.

Run by Growing Local teaching staff all year, 2 to 3 hour workshops for groups of up to 14. Participants will get to take home the recipe card of the dish they have made as part of a pack healthy easy to follow recipe cards.

This project is funded by the Big Lottery Fund Awards for All programme. Enquiries to Louisa Foti louisa@growinglocal.org.uk 07902 802982.

Secondary School Educational Courses

Growing Local is Going Local offer tailored land-based courses for the 14-16 age-groups. One day visits are available. Most courses run weekly for an academic term or for an academic year. Courses can be arranged and adapted to provide the most appropriate education for any group of students. Full consultation with the school will precede any visit. Courses can include vegetable propagation, growing and harvesting, livestock care, environmental studies and woodland skills. The provision is offered over three sites, The ‘ Growing Local Garden’ at Court Farm in Tillington, Home Farm in Dulas and Credenhill Woods.

Dips & Sticks Cook Workshops

Thanks to funding in 2019 from Ernest Cook, the Pippin Trust and Bulmers Benevolent Fund we can visit you at your school or community group. Growing Local staff will bring along mobile cookery equipment and set up a temporary kitchen in your classroom or hall. Working in small groups children will have fun identifying locally grown fruits and vegetables, learn about seasonality and what grows in Herefordshire and prepare and sample a variety of seasonal vegetables, fruits and dips.

Under careful supervision children will practice safe knife skills chopping and slicing a variety of raw vegetables (younger children will use age appropriate ‘safe’ knives) and prepare a range of healthy dips. KS2 children will have a go at our fun ‘Design-A-Dip’ challenge. At the end of the session children will be encouraged to taste and talk about all the dips and veggie ‘dip sticks’.

1.5 Hour Workshop for a maximum of 16 children. Cook Workshops are available for booking throughout the year. Detailed lesson plans are available on request.

Enquiries to Louisa Foti louisa@growinglocal.org.uk 07902 802982.

Garden Experience Workshops

For ten years Growing Local have delivered Garden Experience Workshops at our purpose built educational garden plot at Court Farm, Tillington. In 2019 workshops are funded by Ernest Cook, the Pippin Trust and Bulmers Benevolent Fund.

Sessions include practical and creative activities enabling children to learn how to sow seed, plant, tend and harvest vegetables, tasting our produce around the plot as they learn. Working in small groups allows total participation in each task and enhances learning. The practical activities relate directly to National Curriculum requirements.

Workshops are available to schools and community groups throughout the late spring, summer term and early autumn. Workshops are for a maximum of 18 children. We can sometimes accommodate larger class sizes or groups by offering farm walks for half of your group if you book two workshops.

KS1 Sample Lesson Plan

KS2 Sample Lesson Plan

Enquiries and bookings to Louisa Foti, louisa@growinglocal.org.uk or 07902 802982.

Harvesting & Cookery Workshops

Funded in 2019 by Ernest Cook, the Pippin Trust and Bulmers Benevolent Fund children harvest fruits, vegetables and herbs from the plot, learn about seasonality and growing, sow and tend crops, taste raw salads, peas, beans, fruits and herbs and then cook and eat a seasonal dish using the vegetables and herbs harvested.

Workshops are for a maximum of 16 children. We can sometimes accommodate larger class sizes or groups by offering farm walks for half of your group if you book two workshops.

We can tailor your cookery sessions to African cooking techniques and dishes if your class are studying Africa or children have previously attended our African Garden Workshops.

Harvesting & Cookery Workshops are available for booking between June and July 2019 and September and the end of October 2019.

Bookings and enquiries to Louisa Foti louisa@growinglocal.org.uk or 07902 802982.

Cookery takes place in our brand new ‘Plot Box’ field kitchen, a converted and cladded shipping container at the side of our garden. Our kitchen was made possible by the generous donations of a surplus container from the Credenhill army camp, oak framed windows from Windowise in Hereford and all timber and cladding from Gibbs and Dandy also in Hereford.