Grow Organic Case Studies
Participants on the Grow Organic programme have benefitted in different ways. Here are some case studies of schools as well as some of the individual children and adults we have been working with:
Children
Child A – developing in confidence as a result of gardening
Child A is a primary aged child with a difficult home life. Mum is wheelchair bound and appears to need a lot of support from both father and the child. It is apparent that before Child A was born the father had an allotment but had to give it up to meet the demands of his family.
When Child A first joined the gardening sessions she was very quiet and somewhat withdrawn, hovering on the sidelines of both the activity and the other children, always needing directing into a specific activity.
Now after 2 terms of gardening Child A is volunteering to do activities and coming up with suggestions of ways to do things and ideas of best approaches. She readily engages in conversation with other children working on the plot and supporting adults. She is happy to talk about home life and volunteers stories relevant to the subjects and stories that her Dad has told her about his allotment and gardening.
Child B – enabling a child to access and enjoy the outdoors through gardening.
Child B is a primary aged child who lives in a terrace of houses with a small yard overshadowed by a mill and surrounded by industrial units and a busy main road. He would appear to be slightly overweight, and does not get a lot of exercise or opportunity for playing or being outside.
Through the sessions this child has developed a real passion for gardening and growing and being in the outdoors. He digs with great gusto, working hard to dig the large hole needed to plant fruit bushes and is enthusiastic about every aspect of the work. He will happily weed for extended periods of time enjoying the calm that this provides.
He now helps the teacher prepare for all her outdoor sessions, waters the seeds ever day and helps and supports younger children out in the garden, sharing the knowledge and enthusiasm he has gained through the sessions.
Child C -This case study is in the form of an interview.
It features a 9 year old girl, attending gardening club after school. She asked specifically to come and talk to me when she heard people were being interviewed about the work the children had been doing in gardening club.
Do you like gardening?
Yes. I love gardening.
What do you like about coming to gardening?
Everything!
Tell me 3 things that you have especially enjoyed.
We've planted some beans today. We also planted some a couple of months ago. And we planted peas in a drainpipe a couple of months ago, and today we planted them over there. … Also, we put some CDs near the cabbage plants so the birds didn't get them. And we planted some wheat.
Have you ever grown wheat before?
No. But my aunty's got a garden, so I did gardening before.
What has been the best thing in gardening club?
When we had to pick up cards really quickly about birds and worms and what birds eat.
Like, a game, you mean?
Yes. But I liked loads of things.
Do you think gardening is good for children's health?
Yes, it's healthy because you plant stuff and then you can take them home and eat them. And, like, digging - you get into it and you exercise and it's well fun!
When you go home after gardening, how do you feel?
I feel energetic - and tired; I enjoyed it and want to do it all again! I feel happy - it's a bit exhausting, but it'll take all the bad things away, all the stuff that's happened at school.
Yes, I know what you mean! Is there anything you can think of that we can do to make gardening better?
It would be better to have more fruit to plant and more games to play outside. But I love gardening!
The BCEP programme worker recognised that this girl has shown a keen interest and good understanding of growing food and all related processes. She is extremely mature and a strong positive influence in the group.
Her head teacher was surprised that she had volunteered to be interviewed, and noted that the club has had a significant impact on the girl's self esteem, she gets so much out of it.
Adults
Adult X
Born in Pakistan, [X] came to this country as a teenager to get married. She has 8 children, and 5 grandchildren. She went to school in Pakistan and learned good English, but did not complete Metriculation. Once in UK, she had no opportunity to continue education.
She has been advised by the doctor to exercise more, being 'borderline' diabetic, and a little overweight.
She first came into contact with BCEP through the women's winter walking programmes we ran at one time. There, she heard about the women's growing group which was gardening weekly on a local allotment. Eventually she tried it, and was hooked!
'Growing food - it's amazing when you see how they grow. It's not the same when you buy it in a packet. It's also good for the health. … Working in the fresh air is good, you change your mood with exercise.'
Now her own garden is also blooming - even neighbours comment that she does 'a marvellous job'.
She's proud to share new knowledge with others:
'My friend's garden is really big. She was always waiting for the gardener to come and take [out] the weeds. But now she does it herself, and I've been helping her.'
Her husband is changing his eating habits - he used to only want meat, but now he enjoys mixed vegetable curries including allotment produce.
Jerusalem artichokes were an unexpected hit this year: the whole family enjoyed the new taste. The second batch she took home were passed on to her husband's friend: 'We had a taste last time, so now he passed it on!'
She always brings new women into the group, including an Indian Hindu, an elderly white woman, and her daughter. Always an ambassador, she recognises the value of new experiences:
'I said to my friend, I enjoy it so much, why don't you come and look for yourself. You don't need to spend any money, just your time! There's a special teacher there to help you, and you learn something. … I think it should be passed on, to new ladies, and the new generation.'
She is a great asset, keeping the group together, recruiting new members, helping us liaise with allotment neighbours, and helping develop ideas for a programme for new growers.
This year, she learned to cycle through the CTC's (BCEP-based) cycling champion - and spoke in public at the Black Environment Network Conference in Manchester!
Adult W
[W] was born in Bangladesh in 1946, Sylhet. She immigrated to England 35 years ago. She has 6 grown up children and 6 grandchildren. She is separated from her husband and is living with her youngest daughter who is 16. She has been coming to the gardening group since the beginning.
She is one of oldest members of the group. She was diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes 4 years ago. Since her diagnosis, she has made many changes to her lifestyle. She has started swimming, and goes walking with her friend twice a week, weather permitting.
She is an enthusiastic member of the group, as she explained:
'My son, who’s studying to be a GP, always tells me to be more active in physical exercise, he says to me that, because I have diabetes and high blood pressure, there’s more chance of me having a stroke or heart attack. I never miss any sessions and try to do a lot of digging at each session.'
She attends the gardening sessions twice a week. She feels that the gardening has helped her in terms of losing weight. She now eats more healthily, is more aware of what type of food to eat or not eat. She says that the healthy eating sessions and discussions on healthy eating have helped her understand more about what foods are good for her and what foods she should avoid eating. She enjoys coming to the sessions and seeing her friends.
[W] is an independent woman who enjoys her life. She is continually gaining in confidence. She has done courses to help her improve her English, achieving level 6 in ESOL. She currently is studying another course which is enabling her to further her English and numeracy skills.
She is always keen to learn new skills try new experiences. She visited the famous bulb gardens in Netherlands with BCEP last year and thoroughly enjoyed the trip. She has also taken advantage of the cycling classes provided by the BCEP-based CTC cycle champion.
She has recruited other women to the group, convincing them of the value of gardening and healthy eating.