Pupils from a Yorkshire School met their gardening hero at Armitage’s Pennine Garden Centre when James Wong spent time with year four students, showing them how to grow cucamelons, goji berries and tomatillosThe children, from Ashbrow School, were invited by Armitage’s to meet the TV presenter and author at their Garden Weekend on Sunday 6 April, when James Wong gave inspirational talks and signed copies of his book Homegrown Revolution.
Before the event, Ashbrow School hosted an afternoon lesson about James Wong and his revolutionary approach to growing unusual crops successfully in the UK climate.
“This has been a wonderful experience for the children and we are so grateful to James, Armitage’s and Suttons Seeds for an amazing opportunity,” said Yvonne Kilvington, activity organiser and gardener at Ashbrow..
In return, the pupils told James about beekeeping!
The children were presented with a signed copy of James’ book and Suttons donated seeds from his Homegrown Revolution range.
“Ashbrow Junior School is a fantastic example of how a school can engage children in gardening and reap so much more than they sow. We are proud to support this fantastic growing initiative and look forward to visiting the pupils to see their progress,” said Sharon McNair, Retail Manager at Armitage’s.
Ashbrow School has created a productive garden at its site in Sheepridge, growing brassicas, legumes, fruit, potatoes, onions and salad crops for the school’s kitchen to use where possible. The aim of their project is to produce most of the fruit and vegetables that the kitchens use for the school meals, and are aiming for a figure of at least 60%.