London pupils of all ages have been set the challenge of designing an edible garden – with the chance to win thousands of pounds worth of gardening equipment for their school.
The exciting competition has been organised by School Food Matters in partnership with The Edible Garden
Show which will be staged at Alexandra Palace, London, from 28-30 March. The three-day event is a fertile mix of celebrity speakers,
interactive advice sessions, cookery demonstrations, innovative products and a fabulous range of exhibitors selling everything you need for a slice of the ‘good life’.
The Edible Garden Show Event Director Bev Channell says: “We are delighted to link up with School Food Matters, a leading charity championing good food in schools, for the My Dream Edible Garden design competition. It is so important for children to be actively involved in growing their own food. It is healthy, fun and great for the environment.”
Bev adds: “We are also thrilled that the competition is being supported by the
Morrisons Let’s Grow programme which aims to help schools capture the imagination of the nation’s children by showing them where food comes from and inspiring them to grow their own fruit and veg in the school grounds. Since the campaign began over 26,500 schools have taken part which is a fantastic achievement.”
The My Dream Edible Garden competition’s winning school will receive £2,000 worth of gardening equipment from the Morrisons Let’s Grow catalogue and two runners up will each receive prizes valued at £500. The winner and two runners up will also receive 30 free tickets to attend the first day of The Edible Garden Show which is set to attract around 20,000 visitors and where the winning designs will be put on display. The panel of judges for the competition will include award-winning TV presenter James Wong, one of the celebrity speakers at the event, and Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins.
Grow-your-own is the nation’s hottest hobby and The Edible Garden Show has been taking the gardening world by storm since its launch in 2011. Perfectly timed for the beginning of the growing season, the show is buzzing with tips on keeping bees, raising chickens, brewing beer, saving energy, mouth-watering baking and dishing up delicious meals using home-grown ingredients. It’s a must-see show for anyone interested in self-sufficiency and packed with masses of trendy and chic ideas for conjuring healthy food from plot to plate.
Expert speakers at the show include award-winning TV botanist James Wong, BBC The One Show’s gardening guru Christine Walkden, chef, forager and wild food expert Mark Lloyd; author, TV and radio presenter Pippa Greenwood; Naomi Schillinger who has written a book about grow-your-own in tight spaces, popular chef Rachel Green and poultry expert Victoria Roberts. Favourite TV chef Phil Vickery will be cooking up a storm at the event for one day only on Saturday 29 March.
Tickets cost £12 in advance (£16 on the door) with concessions for children and seniors. See www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk or ring the ticket hotline on 0844 338 8001.
Eligible London schools can enter the competition at www.schoolfoodmatters.com/design-your-edible-dream-garden.
London schools challenge to design ‘Dream Edible Garden’