Children, parents and staff at a primary school in East Hendred have joined forces to transform a patch of wasteland into a thriving vegetable patch. Gill Oliver took a walk down the garden path.

It all started when class teacher Jan Page spotted a competition on her breakfast muesli pack and decided to nominate her school. St Amand’s was one of five lucky ones in Oxfordshire chosen to receive £300-worth of gardening materials to create a so-called ‘edible playground’.

The prize, from Dorchester-based food company Dorset Cereals, included plants, seeds, planters, garden tools, a recipe book and even an apple tree.

“We had a small space just outside the classroom not being properly used that was just perfect for our needs,” explained Ms Page.

“It was quite a community effort. The parent of one of the children in my class, who is a botanist, pruned a tree that was quite near to the plot.

“Dorset Cereals sent us the equipment to make two wooden raised beds and we are growing vegetables in there and planning to eat them.

“The plants we were sent were fantastic quality and they were actual plants, not just seeds.

“We are going to make salads and salad dressing and we have strawberries and runner beans, so a real mixture,” she added.

Ms Page said her pupils, aged eight, nine and ten were also given tomato plants in pots to care for.

“The children have taken it in turns to keep all the plants watered and do the weeding, so it has been a terrific project,” she said.

“We are looking forward to enjoying the fruits of our labour.

“The other thing we are delighted about is that Dorset Cereals sent a beautiful wooden chest full of really high-quality garden tools, such as forks and trowels.

“That means we have the kit for next time we are ready to plant, which is brilliant,” she added.

Dorset Cereals launched the initiative as part of a national campaign to encourage schools to grow food in their grounds.

With the backing of the Royal Horticultural Society, it has set up a petition to encourage the Government to fund this type of project in every primary school.

So far, the company said it had received more than 3,000 entries and given away 100 edible playgrounds.

“We know children love growing things and through our website, we want to help teachers and parents to get involved by giving every child the opportunity to sow a seed and watch it turn into food,” said Dorset Cereals’ Harriet McKay.

As part of the project, the company set up a website with ideas, advice and recipes.

It is also running another competition ‘Make your own cress head film’, where people of all ages are encouraged to grow cress heads and then use a camera to turn it into a work of animation.

The four other winners of the edible playgrounds competition in Oxfordshire were St Barnabas School in Hart Street, Oxford; Sacred Heart Primary and Rupert House School both in Henley-on-Thames; and St Nicolas Church of England school in Abingdon.

“We received some fantastic items such as potatoes, carrots and salad items and two planters full of different vegetables,” pointed out St Nicolas’ head teacher Dick Furniss.

“The children have been able to see the speed at which things grow and are just beginning to harvest things. They absolutely love it.

“Now when you ask them where a carrot comes from, instead of saying Sainsbury’s, they know it comes out of the ground,” he added.

For more information about the competition and projects, visit www.edibleplaygrounds.co.uk. The closing date for the cress head competition is October 20, 2009.

How does your garden grow?

Many children have no idea where fruit and vegetables come from, according to organic growing charity Garden Organic.

The Warwickshire-based organisation is concerned that our youngsters are eating more processed and fatty foods, leading to higher levels of obesity.

Already working with more than five thousand schools around the UK, the voluntary organisation aims to teach pupils about gardening and how to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

Incorporating food into the curriculum and teaching children about climate change and the environment, including food miles, are some of the other aspects of its work.

It has just launched an appeal to raise £45,000 to enable it to reach another 1,000 schools this year.

For more information about the charity and its work, visit www.gardenorganic.org.uk or to donate to the campaign, call 02476 308 210.