With the aim of reaching 10,000 London students growing food in our city by Summer 2016, students from every London borough are being set the challenge to grow one thing, feed their city.
The new Growathon website enables schools, students and growing organisations to share their food growing activities on the Growathon Carrot Totaliser and watch as the numbers increase at www.growathon.org.uk
Activities such as workshops, lessons, assemblies, events, class projects and school farm visits will all be included. And schools will be able to advertise public growing events on the website to invite other young people to come along.
Grassroots growing, educational and environmental organisations such as community gardens, are also being encouraged to support schools to meet the challenge, proving that together there is a real hunger for healthy, local food in our communities, starting with young people.
Colette Bond, head of education at Garden Organic said: "Since early 2014 Garden Organic has been proud to lead the Food Growing Schools: London partnership towards achieving the ambitious aim to see every school in London growing food. Growathon is a new initiative that recognises each and every one of our partner's hard work and dedication to collectively reaching this goal, through their unique and inspiring school growing activities, events, resources and training".
"Now there’s the chance for schools and community organisations in every London Borough to celebrate what they are doing too - and together reach our target of 10,000 students growing food by Summer 2016."
FGSL partner activities include: Garden Organic’s Give it a Grow campaign, Capital Growth’s Harvestometer, the new Soil Association Food for Life Award Scheme, Morrisons’ Academy of Food, RHS Campaign for School Gardening workshops for teachers, School Food Matters’ Schools to Market (Whole Foods) and Young Marketeers (Borough Market) programmes and Trees for Cities’ Edible Playgrounds.
A Growathon Forum event will take place in Spring 2016, for schools and growing organisations.
