Roots & Shoots

Roots and Shoots

Getting involved

Improving the local area through community work, community cohesion, and raising awareness of the importance of green spaces. This project with its health and wellbeing focus, carries out gardening clubs in the community and schools to litter picking, community clear ups as well as tree planting and vegetable growing.

Through the Roots & Shoots project, individuals and companies alike can volunteer their time to improve local areas through:

Tree planting – Wildflower Sowing – Community Clear Ups – Litter Picking.
Organisations can get involved as part of a team-building exercise for one day only or they can make it an annual event.
Running community and school gardening clubs – to highlight working together, learn where food comes from and to get children, young people and adults interested in growing produce for themselves.
Nature and wildlife sessions in schools - so that children can better understand their place in the world and everything in it.
Litter picking and community clear-ups– research indicates that taking care of green spaces helps to reduce anti-social behaviour, theft and vandalism.
Tree planting and growing in the community – to combat pollution for greater health and wellbeing.

Case Study

In springtime, we began work at a new primary school in East Leeds. They were fortunate to have some raised beds and a dedicated growing area in the playground but this had not been tended to in a while as the school was struggling to keep up the work on a regular basis. We began working with a small enthusiastic Year 3 group who started weeding and clearing the area and planting new vegetables and flowers.

By summer the children were ready to harvest what they had grown and loved picking fresh peas and beans for the first time as well as taking home potatoes, onions and shallots to share with their families.

Initially many were frightened of the insects burrowing in the compost, but by autumn squeals of fear turned to those of delight. One girl held a worm up with her bare hands and declared – ‘I’ve overcome my fear of worms!’ The group has also grown to a weekly after-school club with 12 children.

Gardening has been proven to improve health and well being and working within schools is a great way to get children interested in nature and the importance of wildlife for our own way of living. It helps children understand where their food comes from and the processes involved, which complements in class, learning around Maths, Science and PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) education.

To get involved, please contact:

Susan Docherty

Susan@learningpartnerships.org.uk

07361875619