A practical, curriculum linked programme which provides a unique opportunity to engage, educate, and empower primary school students to take a systems-based approach to closing material and energy loops when it comes to food and resource choices, and to simultaneously embed tangible, and positive, climate action at every stage of the process.
Regional
Ireland
Schools in:
- Mayo towns of Westport, Castlebar, Ballina
- Sligo
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Edible Landscape Project Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Caithriona Last name of representative: McCarthy Gender: Female Nationality: Ireland Function: Project Manager Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Roslynagh, Knockfin Town: Westport Postal code: F28 NDoo Country: Ireland Direct Tel:+353 86 600 8560 E-mail:info@ediblelandscape.ie Website:https://ediblelandscape.ie/index.php/food-forest-climate-education-program/
TThe Edible Landscape Project (ELP) based in Westport Co Mayo, a social enterprise and a company limited by guarantee, has devised an outline for a novel and unique curriculum linked climate education programme for primary schools - ELP’s Climate Education Programme (CEP). As Cities and towns are challenged to rapidly transition into resilient, healthy net-zero places. The Edible Landscape Project’s CEP, specifically designed for Primary School children can help achieve this transition.
The programme provides a unique opportunity to engage, educate, and empower primary school students to take a systems-based approach to closing material and energy loops when it comes to food and resource choices, and to simultaneously embed tangible, and positive, climate action at every stage of the process.
To facilitate this, ELP provides resources to teachers to teach students about climate change, and specifically about the links between climate change and food. Five topics are covered and lesson plans for each topic are provided to teachers in an age-appropriate manner. Teachers can be assured that the children will be developing the skills as outlined for each age group but with the added advantage of the climate change lens.
All lessons are centred around a 2m x 2m Food Forest, which is planted in the school garden and referred to constantly throughout the classes.
A Food Forest is a mini ecosystem, providing students with a roadmap for developing interconnected ecosystems. This mimics the type of world we want our children to live in, where everything is connected and the circularity and connections between everything is understood and respected.
The Climate Education Program has been rolled out in schools in the west of Ireland since November 2021 in a total of 15 schools, with an average of 30 students per school involved.
Soil
Water
Biodiversity
Food Miles
Food Forest
Objectives outlined below are met through the lesson plans which are curriculum based.
Resources provided by CEP teach students address the food system showing students how the circular economy for food works. Five topics are covered and lesson plans for each topic are provided to teachers.
The Food Forest planting helps children reconnect with nature as the planting style utilises regenerative farming techniques and promotes 1) biodiversity, 2) sustainable water and 3) sustainable soil management. Each of these topics are covered in the 5 lesson plans. which form CEP. The other two topics included are 4) Food Miles and the 5) Food Forest itself.
Lessons 1-3: Understanding Food Growing:
1. SOIL MECHANICS - first steps in soil management are planting a fruit or nut tree/ observing worm and other populations/ setting up a wormery/learning to check soil texture /adding locally available nutrients such as manure, seaweed and of course compost. Students learn how Food Waste can be returned to the soil as organic matter to fertilise the soil
2. BIODIVERSITY - students observe and measure biodiversity levels throughout the year by returning to the Food Forest
3. WATER - students observe how to keep soil covered so plants grow better and don’t require constant watering/ learning the overall importance of clean water in the ecosystem
Lesson 4. Food Consumption
4. FOOD MILES – students use Food Miles calculator, observe packaging from local supermarkets and ask questions e.g. “Why are we buying apples from Argentina when we can grow them at school?” Students learn to question the food purchasing habits in their weekly family shop, to request more locally sourced organic foods and to help build community resilience and intergenerational learning.
Lesson 5
5. FOOD FOREST - All lessons revolve around the circularity of the food forest, which will allow students to observe changes over the course of the year and apply learnings
ELP creates awareness of how the food choices we make every day affect climate change, either positively or negatively. "Currently most consumers are unaware of this", Science Direct: ”Measuring Consumers’ Knowledge of the Environmental Impact of Foods”, Vol 167 (Dec 2021)
As the impacts of climate change deepen, our food systems become increasingly vulnerable to more frequent and extreme weather events, including flooding and drought. In addition, wide-scale use of chemical fertilisers is negatively impacting on the soil, and on the health of our river systems. The EPA identified almost half the rivers in Ireland as being polluted in their latest 2022 report.
Many communities are struggling to find meaningful ways to engage with climate change and many people, particularly children, are struggling with climate anxiety. “59% of children were very or extremely worried and 84% were at least moderately worried" The Lancet: Volume 5: Issue 12 (Dec 2021).
In response to this, ELP has prioritised the people and places that need the most help by devising their novel Programme aimed at 7- to 12-year-old Primary School students.
The aim of ELP's programme is to help alleviate the problems outlined through the design of their educational programme which encourages more children to buy, grow and consume food in an environmentally sustainable, climate smart way. Because who better to charge with accelerating change in the food system than children who, using their phenomenal buying power – we all have to eat and Gen Z 7-12 years olds can learn to use their power as influencers – to demand more food products grown locally, using sustainable management practices: a) organic b) locally grown produce.
Furthermore, school children, their families and teachers learn to have fun co-designing and co-creating food forests as they transform degraded school yards to a functional yet beautiful and productive green space.
ELP has prioritised the people and places that need the most help by devising the novel programme aimed at Primary School students. This resonates with the third guiding axis of the New European Bauhaus. Every child is included in the Food Forest experience regardless of their economic, ethnic or social backgrounds, or abilities. Plants and lessons are made available to all and are founded on principles of radical inclusion.
Schools in disadvantaged urban areas and remote rural areas are a particular focus of the programme calls. Lesson plans are written and developed by qualified teachers and founded on principles of radical inclusion, whereby participants from any economic, ethnic, social background are equally encouraged, as are children of all abilities. Facilitators are trained in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion awareness, including in awareness of Unconscious Bias.
Students participating in CEP are actively encouraged to replicate the 2m x 2m food forest in their home gardens with their families and in their local communities with neighbours and friends on bare or unloved community spaces. This fosters community spirit, inclusiveness and inter-generational knowledge transfer.
ELP has prioritised the people and places that need the most help by devising the novel programme aimed at Primary School students. This resonates with the third guiding axis of the New European Bauhaus. Every child is included in the Food Forest experience regardless of their economic, ethnic or social backgrounds, or abilities. Plants and lessons are made available to all and are founded on principles of radical inclusion.
Schools in disadvantaged urban areas and remote rural areas are a particular focus of the programme calls. Lesson plans are written and developed by qualified teachers and founded on principles of radical inclusion, whereby participants from any economic, ethnic, social background are equally encouraged, as are children of all abilities. Facilitators are trained in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion awareness, including in awareness of Unconscious Bias.
Students participating in CEP are actively encouraged to replicate the 2m x 2m food forest in their home gardens with their families and in their local communities with neighbours and friends on bare or unloved community spaces. This fosters community spirit, inclusiveness and inter-generational knowledge transfer.
Stakeholders included:
Schoolchildren in Co Mayo at secondary school level where a version of CEP was trialled with 15-17 year old children in 2018 -2020 – albeit before the Climate Action Bill was signed into law so before climate anxiety became the force it is today. These workshops provided much of the impetus for the final version of CEP due to the very positive reaction of the children taking part to both the teaching material and edible planting aspect. In fact children were so eager to take part there had to be a lottery system put in place.
Lecturers and students on the Post Graduate in Climate Entrepreneurship in Trinity College Dublin in 2021 – just as the Climate Action Bill was being signed into law - where the idea of CEP was presented to large groups and very positive feedback was given and incorporated into the final version
The local authority Mayo County Council who part funded some of the earlier ELP workshops in schools
Rethink Ireland who support non-profit social enterprise organisations on the island of Ireland. ELP received funding and mentoring advice from Rethink in 2021as CEP was being developed
South West Mayo Leader who provided a mentor during 2020-2021 to help develop CEP into the successful programme it is. Their advice on governance and strategy and help developing these policies was invaluable
ELP’s Food Forest Working Group who met on several occasions in 2021 and out of which the current iteration of CEP was written
ELP Board who input from their different areas of expertise from education, finance, communications and entrepreneurship
Edel Hackett - Press advisor to Irish Minister for Climate Change advised on implementation routes
Orla Murphy architect and member of the NEB High Level Roundtable advised on ways to connect the ELP with the principles and values of the NEB, on knowledge sharing and scalability of the project from the local, to regional, national and international levels.
In the knowledge that children had already responded extremely well to the prototype CEP workshops from 2018 to 2020, and, having tested the idea for CEP theoretically to the Trinity College Dublin audience, the next step was to create an actual programme that could be used in schools.
In summer 2021 ELP formed a Food Forest working group. This group met several times (online as it was during covid restrictions) to flesh out the idea for CEP. Almost all involved live in the Mayo area. Most of those attending meetings covered at least two of the disciplines or knowledge fields listed below, and in some cases three. The added value of bringing this eclectic group of people together was the very fact that a primary or secondary school teacher, who was also a parent concerned at the levels of anxiety their child was under from the constant media coverage of climate issues, could also visualise how a climate education programme could be so successful in schools. In mid 2021, there were no programmes existing at that time or if they did exist, they were separate to the curriculum and therefore an added piece of work for the already heavily burdened primary school teacher. Knowledge fields included:
People interested in Environmental Sustainability
Teachers at primary, secondary and vocational level.
Community Activists
Sustainability Entrepreneurs
Concerned Parents & Grandparents
Once the outline for the CEP was decided by the Food Forest Working Group, a member of the group, primary school teacher and parent Michelle Granaghan followed the Irish Department of Education’s curriculum guidelines so that CEP was written accurately into the primary school curriculum. This was crucial to the practical implementation of CEP and to ensure best practice pedagogy.
CEP is the only initiative in Ireland where a food forest is planted by children as a teaching tool to teach them about the circular economy for food. Schoolchildren learn the systems thinking nature of our food system through active participation.
Everything included in CEP Teaching Resources is directly curriculum based. Each of the strand units and learning outcomes are clearly stated as they are in the curriculum, in order to assist teachers in their planning. Although the curriculum was published 22 years ago, it contains many learning outcomes that are directly applicable to the climate crisis, as much of the geography and science curriculum is very sympathetic to the natural world and to improving our own local environment
The Green Schools programme offered in primary schools in Ireland is another environmental awards programme. However this programme is not written into the curriculum and therefore becomes dependent on primary school teachers themselves to develop the Green Schools agenda, Nor is the circular economy the main concept within this programme.
To an already overworked primary school teacher this often proves to be too much extra work. As CEP is already written into the primary school curriculum it is a much more attractive programme for primary school teachers to incorporate into their classes.
ELP's solution integrates New European Bauhaus values of sustainability, inclusiveness and aesthetics through its novel curriculum-led, CEP initiative which is designed specifically for Irish primary schools.
CEP is easily adaptable to other European countries, climates and ecosystems and could be incorporated into schools throughout Europe to encourage other Gen Z schoolchildren to grow and consume food in an environmentally sustainable, climate smart way.
ELP has pinpointed Gen Z as the optimum audience to engage on this issue, since this age group:
Constitutes 22.1% of the Irish population
Is estimated to account for $14bn - €29bn in direct spending as a market segment in addition to money spent on them by older generations.
Gen Z tend to be the most influential group in any market. They are the future thinkers do-ers, stewards of their place, so engaging this age group is essential to ensure climate action and knowledge is sustainable for future generations. Gen Z also influence both their peers and older generations when it comes to climate action therefore they are likely to influence sustainable food choices after participation in CEP.
Is well documented to have strong influence within a family unit when it comes to food purchasing, food growing, and food waste disposal, particularly as environmental worries are a primary concern for this age-group.
The methodology, technology, processes and learnings from CEP could be easily scaled up and replicated throughout European primary schools with the same successful outcomes.
ELP uses CEP to educate students about the interconnectedness and circularity of our food systems and how, when we lose this connectedness, we negatively affect climate change.
In this programme, and indeed in the Food Forest itself, we are encouraging a systems- thinking approach. This simply means that everything is working together and for each other. In the Food Forest, each of the plants are there for a number of reasons as they all help each other to thrive. For example, raspberry plants help pollinate the apple tree while rosemary plants repel pests from the apple tree. Similarly the lessons might cover five different topics but their interconnectedness is the key factor, so that all aspects of the system are working together rather than being stand alone lessons. You might have heard reference recently to the circular economy, everything working with and supporting each other.
CEP encourages teachers to teach lessons in the order suggested as they are designed to build skills and knowledge. While the lessons clearly outline the structure of the lesson they are not too specific so that they can be adapted as necessary for a particular class. The first lesson would be taught before the tree planting while the rest of the lessons can be taught at any time between October and March.
Food Forest 1
Soil
Biodiversity
Water
Food Miles
Food Forest 2
Schools link in with a member of the Edible Landscape Project team who helps prepare the 2mx2m Food Forest and assists in planting the apple tree. In springtime they return to the school with the rest of the plants and help with the planting. The Food Forest will not need too much work as the idea is that the plants largely support each other but we will call back annually to check in on planting with a follow up workshop, to replenish the plants and work with another group of students.
Children can eat the food when it is ready.
The food forest can also be used for maths, science or language classes
ELP’s Climate Education Programme for primary schools as outlined above offers local solutions to meets 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)
SDG 2: Zero Hunger:
Showing groups how to grow their own food through our Climate Education Programs
SDG 3: Good Health & Well-being
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages through understanding how to grow and consume food and bringing groups together to plant food forests in their schools and places of work as part of ELP’s Climate education Program
SDG 4: Quality Education
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education regarding climate change and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all through ELP’s Climate Education Programs which is built into the Primary School syllabus in Ireland
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities
Ensures investment in the creation of green public spaces i.e. ELP planting community food forests, in a way that is both participatory and inclusive
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption & Production
Through ELP’s Education Programs - teaching groups to be responsible in their food purchasing habits by assessing food miles
SDG 13: Climate Action
By 2025 helping schools, communities and businesses throughout the island of Ireland to reduce their carbon footprint by showing them how to make climate smart food choices
SDG 15: Life on Land
Promoting sustainable land management practices through ELP’s Education Programs
SDG 17: Partnership for The Goals
ELP is engaged in building inclusive partnerships built upon principles and values, a shared vision, and shared goals that place people and the environment at the centre.
CEP has been rolled out primary schools in the West of Ireland since November 2021, teaching systems-thinking to schoolchildren. This type of circular/ systems thinking is much sought after by educationalists today. A lack of this type of critical thinking is also one of the reasons why climate change has reached such critical levels.
So far 15 schools have participated with an average of 30 students per school. For every €1,000 investment in schools, through the multiplier effect, we estimate we can reach in the range of 270 people i.e. 30 students per school x 3 family members per student x 3 members of the local community. As more funding comes in, we will expand the number of schools involved in CEP.
Currently feedback is direct from teachers, students and parents of students participating in CEP.
From Murrisk National School:
Kids’ quotes:
“It was good to get outside and get muddy”
“It’s good for us to plant trees. I liked hammering the wood [stake]”
“I liked seeing all the creatures”
Parents’ quotes:
“A really lovely activity for them to do”
“I love the project, such a great idea”
Teacher quote:
“The children really enjoyed it.
CEP Outcomes and Benefits:
Helping students understand the circularity of the food system (soil health, resource management, waste elimination, healthy choices), thereby helping alleviate climate anxiety
Teaching students how to engage positively with climate change resulting in lowered carbon footprint of participants their families and communities
Increased engagement in climate issues
Changes in food phasing habits to more sustainable products
Leading to:
Increase in spending in local economy as shoppers turn to locally produced, chemical free food
Increase in numbers of people growing their own food
Positive mental and physical health benefits through working outdoors with soil
Most of all the children have fun and often replicate the food forest in their own gardens and community
CEP contributes to the development of new competencies in participating school groups, particularly the in the context of the EU Competence Framework on Sustainability:
1. Embodying sustainability values - through CEP lesson plans understanding how we can all achieve sustainable Soil, Water, Biodiversity and less food miles using the Food Forest as a model
2. Embracing complexity in sustainability - understanding how everything is connected again, using the food forest as an example
3. envisioning sustainable futures - seeing how by supporting local food producers and growing more of our own food we can create a sustainable food system
4. Acting for sustainability - learning how to become sustainability champions within their local communities
