Children Learn How To Grow Food As Part Of Their Studies Thanks To Chef Raymond Blanc

Feb 15, 2020 by apost team

Since 2013, chef Raymond Blanc and other campaigners have been pushing the education system to teach students how to grow their own food, with some success - it became part of the UK curriculum in 2014. 

When the experts are in agreement and children enjoy the experience as much as this video proves, it's probably time for even more children to spend time connecting with nature during their school day.

An NPR report followed the Eastern Senior High School in Washington D.C. that has a school garden and found that the gardens are really “outdoor classrooms where kids learn valuable lessons — not just about nutrition, but also about science and math, even business skills.”

They follow a girl named Roshawn Little as she sells the produce at a farmers market which has “helped her practice her public speaking skills”.

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Another advocate for school gardens, French chef Raymond Blanc, spoke with the Independent and raised a good point regarding the unhealthy aspect of not growing your own fresh food:

“We have a multi-billion dollar problem with heart disease, diabetes and obesity because of intensive farming and heavily processed food. We could learn to eat carrot soup produced from our gardens.”

Blanc lobbied to make outdoor learning compulsory for children aged 7-14, as part of the cooking curriculum in the U.K. According to the Independent, the chef believes that “learning how to plant a vegetable garden, along with knowledge of the wildlife and bugs which share any garden space, will help combat the obesity crisis.”

Advocates of school gardening cite these health and learning benefits for children as well as a few more, including environmental knowledge: “...experiences in nature provide a basis for further interactions with nature and increase awareness of environmental issues,” says a 2019 study on Biodiverse edible schools.

Advocates also noted attentionspan improvement: The Out Teach organization (formerly REAL School Gardens), mentioned in the NPR report, says that 94% of their participating teachers say the students are “more engaged” with lessons.

What do you think? Should children be taught how to garden and grow their own food from an early age or should they spend time on other subjects in school instead? Let us know in the comments below and pass this along to your friends and family with kids.