A look at the RHS Campaign for School Gardening through the experience of three, very different, schools.

“Head gardener Bo Stills has a lot on his mind. Slugs have been a problem this year, there are prize vegetables to be chosen for show and he’s wondering if there’s space for the soft fruits he wants to plant. Nothing unusual there, until you realise that Bo is eight and the garden he tends is on a school roof in Tower Hamlets.

“Bo and his fellow gardeners attend Chisenhale primary school, one of nearly 16,000 that have registered for the RHS Campaign for School Gardening which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month.

“The benefits of school gardening range from improved behaviour to healthier eating habits, but the RHS had a more specific aim. “The charity was worried about the loss of gardening skills,” says Claire Custance, RHS strategic development manager, “and we wanted to ensure these were transferred to the younger generation. What’s more, most young people don’t see gardening as a career to be proud of.””

Read the full article here.