Eco-Schools Programme

This week the Delapre Diggers harvested all the season’s produce they’ve been growing this year at the allotment. An impressive haul! The children and their families are encouraged to use the fresh vegetables in their meals.

Pleydell Road allotments: DPS now use 6 mini plots. This week the children were planting vegetables.

The wildlife group made their own mini gardens and ‘seed balls’ which they’ll plant (or hurl!) at home. The gardening group planted carrots and broad beans.

This week saw the gardening club restart with parent volunteers Mrs Whitehead and Mrs Feetham. After its success last year, we were able to offer the club to a new group of year 4 students. Our existing group have returned all full of enthusiasm and knowledge gained from last year.

This week the ‘newbies’ planted herbs in seed and plant form, refreshing some of the old pots used last year. The ‘oldies’ carried out a wildlife/bug hunt around the wildlife garden identifying various insects, a sleepy newt and various spring bulbs coming up.

During their last gardening session, the Delapre Diggers harvested the products of their hard work over this term. They each took home a bag full of vegetable goodies they have grown such as courgettes, cucumbers, broad beans and potatoes.

Everyone agreed there was an impressive selection available, that’s sure to encourage healthy eating.

Other tasks included wild grasses identification and replanting the ‘strawberry wellies’ with summer flowers.

Each gardener was presented with a certificate and received thanks for their hard work during each session. Their enthusiasm and efforts have been immense and they’ve learned a lot about gardening and nature along the way.

A huge thanks to Mrs Gordon, Mr Kelly, Mrs Whitehead and Mrs Feetham who have run the club and put so much effort into the fun activities. Sessions will resume in September.

Gardening/nature club ‘Delapre Diggers’ has started up again with parent volunteers Alice Whitehead and Alison Feetham, assisted by school staff Mrs Gordon and Mr Kelly. They meet every few weeks to plant the brand new vegetable patches with various crops and undertake various gardening duties.

Last session, the group made a ‘welly boot’ strawberry patch as well as planting various vegetables such as carrots and lettuce. In this week’s session they planted broad beans and created a ‘butterfly feast’ of sugar water dipped material strips to attract more wildlife to the garden. Each week the pupils take home seeds or plants for homework, as well as various written tasks such as making plant labels or completing plot plans.

All the year 3 and 4 children involved are thoroughly enjoying themselves and learning in the outdoors, they always come and tell Mrs Gordon and Miss Letts all about it! Check out their work on the gardening noticeboard in the year 5 corridor and their page on this blog:

http://eco-school.delapreprimaryschool.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=53&action=edit

1. If you plant vegetables in your garden bugs and animals will become attracted to it and when the winter comes they will hibernate underneath your garden.

2.different bird seed holders bring in all the animals and brighten up your garden so do bug hotels. Even decorating your garden with fruit and things it makes it eco friendly.

DECORATE YOUR GARDEN AND HAVE IT TEEMING WITH ANIMALS WHY DON’T YOU BECOME ECO FRIENDLY?

Before the winter holidays we did some gardening. Firstly we had to pad the bottom of the pots with stone and cardboard for airing. The only downside was all the rotten apples from the summer! Next, we carried them down to the small garden near the office so we could put in soil and bulbs, of which looked a lot like old onions, in them. We left them under hedges for the winter so they would not freeze to death while we were celebrating Christmas over the holidays.

A few days ago, after three months of growing ,we took them to their new home in the wildlife garden in the playground where everyone can look at them in the morning when the garden opens it’s gates.

We put some stones in the bottom of the flower pots and we put soil in some flower pots. Then we put some bulbs in the pots and we covered them in soil. We watered them to help them grow . Now they are growing perfectly . But we had to make sure that the bulbs were covered and that the birds didn’t get to them.

Before the cold dark winter nights some of my friends and I did some gardening with our teacher Miss Letts.We planted lots of beautiful daffodils which we put in front of the year 5 and 6 windows. As it was just a little while to winter, we put them under some bushes so they wouldn’t get cold and die.

Now they are in the wildlife garden and look lovely.