The Venny garden plays a passive role in play. It provides an invitation for children to explore and interact with it whilst delivering a subtle healing presence. Our new Junior Urban Farmer project aims to elevate this by supporting children to take an active role in caring for and maintaining the Venny’s food garden and composting systems.
Under the guidance of Urban Farmer, Alicia Rogers, our Youth Leaders, Aisha, Atlas, Eden and Sarah have been meeting on Saturday mornings to build their gardening knowledge and skills. They will then lead and support younger children or junior urban farmers to care and maintain the garden during our regular play sessions. Sarah says, “we want to pass on our knowledge so that the garden is sustainable in the long term”.
An annual calendar is being developed to support children to make decisions about what to grow. This will also act as a simple work plan for children, staff and volunteers to follow so that jobs won’t be missed or duplicated.
After consulting the seasonal calendar our Youth Leaders have chosen to plant watermelon, mint, coriander, colourful carrots and lettuce as their first crop. Using permaculture principles they have followed the moon cycle to determine when to plant.
The current school holidays will provide a great opportunity to get some younger children involved.
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