Hamilton Lodge school garden

About the garden

Hamilton Lodge is a school for deaf children age 5-18. The school has a residential unit with a large garden that was previously uncultivated where the vegetable garden is now located. Houda Davis, a Child Care Officer at the school, decided to establish a veg garden with the residential students in March 2011 to enable them to see things growing and better understand where food comes from. She also hopes the garden will help the students to increase skills and confidence though doing task-based practical activities and cooking and eating what they’ve grown.

The garden includes are two raised beds, herbs, fruit trees and raspberry canes, and sunflowers. The students help with watering every day and attend garden club sessions once a week where they plant and maintain the garden. The students also cook dinner with the food they’ve grown once a week.

Houda runs the project with 5-6 students who regularly help in the garden and attend the gardening club. Other students also help on an ad hoc basis. Houda works with the students to decide what to grow. When they’re able, they sometimes sell things they’ve grown. For example, they grew too many tomato plants so had a tomato sale for red nose day to raise funds for Comic Relief.

Sweet success

The main success has been getting the girls with more special needs involved. They’ve really enjoyed seeing the food grow and having the experience right through from planting a seed to picking a carrot. The students say they enjoy the eating and the growing, particularly the fruit and the carrots. They also enjoyed helping with the watering.

Challenges

It’s been a bit difficult managing what to grow and how much. Also, motivating the students in bad weather, and getting some of the older students involved has also been a challenge.

Funding the garden

The school has been supportive of the project and paid for the raised beds. The only grant funding they’ve had is the Good Food Grant.

Houda says, “I am happy with the amount of support from the Food Partnership. Perhaps growing tips and ideas for gardening with young people in the form of a booklet or web resource would be useful.”