Fresh herbs for school lunches

Published on isbi School News dated Monday 8th of July 2013

St Benedict's School now has a Herb Garden, conveniently situated beside the Art 1 classroom. Kate Linton, Art teacher and the school's Environmental Coordinator, explains: 'The herb garden came about as a result of our Eco Council survey at the start of the year which highlighted a lack of green space and bio diversity in the school grounds. Opportunities on the school site for green areas are limited. I also wanted to do something which would help pupils take more of an interest in the food that is prepared for them in the school canteen - growing vegetables with the long summer holidays is not always practical and so growing herbs seemed a good place to start. Over 90% of the herbs the kitchen uses are fresh so it made sense to grow them on site, reducing the transport and packaging associated with buying them in.'
Year 8 pupils, Eva Lynch and Hannah Cockshutt, helped plant the herbs and the school's Chief Chef, Lola Dawodu, is using them! Catering Manager, Nick Cave is delighted with this initiative: 'We are very pleased that the pupils have arranged a lovely Herb Garden for our use. Look on the daily menu and see if you can spot what herbs we have used in our cooking and salad preparation. Many thanks to Miss Linton and her fantastic team of ECO Warriors!'