Activities

Local Food for Local Schools | Making Use of School Grounds | New Grower Management Scheme | Commercial Growing Trials | Organic Producers Group | Reports

Since its establishment, the Association has progressed a number of initiatives and projects:

This project aims to raise awareness of the availability of local produce, its role in improving the health of our community – especially its younger members – its importance in the economic and educational development of our communities as well as helping to increase skills at all levels of growing and food preparation.

Five primary schools within Skye and Lochalsh area have been selected to work with the SLHDA, catering staff, growers, health workers etc. in engaging with producers to develop a connection between local growers and their local schools. The schools participating in the project are: Broadford, Dunvegan, Elgol, MacDiarmid and Uig. This initiative is in keeping with current Scottish Executive guidelines and nutritional targets with regard to school meals and is actively supported by the Highland Council Catering and Education departments.

Why Local Food?

• Freshness
• Provenance (known and trustworthy source)
• Cost savings
• Greater contribution to the local economy
• Better taste
• Nutrition and Health
• Sustainability
• Food safety and animal welfare
• Helping children make the link between the food they eat and the world they live in
• Reduction of 'food miles'

Grower Participation

Improving grower skills and capacity building to enable producers to supply local schools with fresh, seasonal produce is a crucial part of the project. The use of modern horticultural methods, technology and growing practices will help to achieve this goal. On completion of the project it is intended to produce a handbook which will be of use to new growers, schools and similar grower groups elsewhere, based on the experiences of SLHDA members and growers over the past 10 years.

Schools are also being encouraged to visit local grower sites to learn and see where their food comes from and how it is grown.

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As part of this project schools are being encouraged and assisted to grow fruit and vegetables in their own school gardens and to generally make these spaces more environmentally friendly. Some schools were already undertaking projects in this area with some assistance from various bodies and this work has now been extended to incorporate a 'kitchen' garden.

With the help of the LFLS project and SLHDA members, schools are actively encouraged to develop areas for growing, environmental projects and wildlife habitats. Pupils are involved in all stages of the garden development from planning to planting and parents are actively encouraged to participate in some of the more physical work e.g. construction of raised beds, willow structures, digging, reconstruction of stone walls etc.

All aspects of this garden development work can be linked to curriculum subjects such as maths, science, geography. These improvements to the school outdoor spaces encourages pupils to develop an awareness of their environment, increase their physical activity, practical skills and improved wellbeing in general – all topics being promoted in the national initiative Health Promoting Schools.

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 1995 Growing Trials (pdf, 981KB)

 1996 Horticultural Trials (pdf, 260KB)

 1997 Commercial Growing Trials (pdf, 455KB)

 1998 Growing Trials And Product Marketing (pdf, 261KB)

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