Grow Great Grub

Grow Great Grub was set up to meet the diverse needs of Sure Start service users in disadvantaged areas of Derbyshire. It provided a practical training course that could address the major issues of health inequalities, poor diet, exercise and obesity.

Background

The training delivered results on all these and provided a constructive, nurturing activity for children. Social isolation of parents was reduced and support networks strengthened along with economic benefits to learners, all within an accredited OCN level 1 and 2 package. This accreditation meant learners could build their own portfolios with skills relevant to the workplace.

The unique selling point for this course was that learners were being given ‘just the right amount’ of knowledge to succeed in veg growing rather than the usual approach of trying to turn them into ‘committed horticulturalists’.

Grow Great Grub is now running its eighth course with numerous learners gaining accredited level 1 qualifications. Many are progressing onto a newly developed level 2 course. A whole range of unique and highly accessible resources have also been developed for the courses. Learners have cleared overgrown gardens and taken up veg growing as a major part of their lifestyles.

Unexpected bonuses have been that every time a course has run, a new area of ground in need of regeneration has been brought into productive community use! This meant learners had a real result for their efforts and a means of continuing after the courses had finished!

Aims and Objectives

The projects key aim is to get adults (and their children) involved in achievable food growing activities that can easily be replicated at home, playgroups or schools. The project does not seek to turn learners into committed gardeners but concentrates on the practical growing of popular and easy crops that can make healthy eating a bigger part of family life.

The main ‘added value’ aim was to bring about the regeneration of veg growing areas to full productive use every time a course ran. This would always be achievable because learners would routinely need to carry out a wide range of practical elements within the course. These ‘growing areas’ could be veg plots in schools or community allotment plots of various types.

Partners

Derby County PCT
Amber Valley Borough Council
Herbert Strutt Primary School
Sure Start

Methodology

The first ten week practical food growing course was written by, and built on, Groundwork Derby & Derbyshire’s considerable body of experience in delivering training/health promotion and educational activities within the vast food and health agenda. This first course ran as ‘Basics of Food Growing’ OCN Level 1 under the name of the ‘Grow Great Grub’ Training Course.

The initial ‘Grow Great Grub’ course in Belper started with childcare being provided for up to 9 pre-school children. This was supplied by the Mulberry Bush private day care nursery in Belper and was charged out to Groundwork on a ‘crèche’ place basis thus saving significant amounts of money to the project. Because practical elements of the course/project would be delivered in the grounds of Herbert Strutt Primary School (located centrally in Belper), a ‘base’ in close proximity to the school was needed. Belper Rugby Club just across the road proved ideal for delivery of the theory elements and provided a dry venue during inclement weather.

The course covered all aspects of food growing from seed sowing, propagation techniques and container growing, to bringing rough ground into production. The 11 learners on the initial course became a significant labour force who renovated and planted up the school veg growing area both for their own use and for the school Garden Club. This ‘doing it for real’ approach proved very rewarding with everything learned in theory being ’reinforced’ with learners seeing direct results over time.

Seven out of the initial learners produced a portfolio of work and course materials for submission by Groundwork to Derbyshire Learning and Development Consortium/OCN for moderation.

Herbert Strutt Primary School also used the veg growing area each week for their school Garden Club on the day following the training course. Children were able to get far more done and found they could ‘replicate’ the planting from the adult learners and follow a more planned approach than would usually be achievable. Achievement inspired more effort and fed the enthusiasm needed to make the course and children’s veg growing a success!

The course for Sure Start Amber Valley/Home Start service users in Langley Mill was delivered between St Andrew’s Church Hall, Langley Mill where weekly Sure Start sessions are held and 4 community allotment plots in Ironville (these being brought into full productive use as the course proceeded).

Promotion

It was considered essential that promotion of the course was targeted at learners most likely to gain the greatest benefits therefore fulfilling the aims of the project. Discussions with the head teacher and school management at the school in autumn 2005 paved the way for a ‘joined up’ food growing project that could engage parents, creating greater links between school and home.

The training course was publicised and promoted to parents from the school at two ‘open days’ on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. A maximum of fifteen places were available and any places not used by local people were offered to parents linked to Sure Start Amber Valley and food growing projects elsewhere in Amber Valley. Other learners could be ‘signposted’ to the course through Sure Start and other agencies. This resulted in 2 learners from a Groundwork supported allotment project in Alfreton and a school teacher running a school garden club in Ironville joining the course.

The second Grow Great grub course in Langley Mill was offered directly to Sure Start Amber Valley and Home Start service users (mainly mothers with pre school children) as a partnership project between these two agencies working with Groundwork Derby and Derbyshire as training provider. Existing links with Sure Start’s weekly ‘Stay, Play and Weigh’ session in Langley Mill were exploited. A regular Groundwork supported Community Veg Scheme was held during these sessions and many potential learners (also veg scheme customers) showed an interest in the course.

Sure Start’s Langley Mill Community Development Worker actively promoted the course to their service users, clearly recognising the huge range of potential benefits to learners and their children. Many of the learners enrolled from Langley Mill were also Home Start service users and had also earlier been involved with more ‘informal’ container veg growing sessions with Groundwork.

Resources

The lead project officer has been funded through the Big Lottery Community Fund and the main initial funding for this specific project area came through a £2000 Countryside Agency grant administered through Amber Valley Borough Council (AVBC).

Additional funding sources included:

£2000 HIMP funding through Amber Valley PCT (now Derbyshire County PCT)
£1000 Environmental Grant through AVBC and
£1000 match funding from Herbert Strutt Primary School (their veg growing area would be subject to major overhaul for use by the whole school community)
The later course delivered to Sure Start Amber Valley and Home Start service users received major ‘funding in kind’ via Sure Start provision of childcare and venue throughout the course.

Funding was used to pay for capital costs such as compost, seeds etc, physical improvements, venue hire, childcare, development of resources and project officer time.

Evaluation

A range of methods were used to measure the success of the project and evaluate the impact on learners.

At the start of each course a ‘Where are you now’ questionnaire was given to learners to record their perceptions of their own confidence, knowledge, skills and ability to succeed in growing activities.

A ‘Where have you reached’ questionnaire was used at the end of the course and the baseline data compared to the summative data. Both forms gave an opportunity to add comments. Average improvements across the fields monitored showed anything from 25 - 620% improvements! Many learners sent in testimonial letters with beautiful photographs taken at home with their children actively participating in growing activities.

The mix of learner submitted, tutor observed and evidence from professionals in other agencies helped build a reliable and objective picture of the true benefits. Even course materials were designed to gather evidence by including a ‘learner journal’ completed as the courses proceeded.

More robust initial assessment of learners using well designed course materials can also be used to record learner progress especially when followed by an equally robust range of summative assessment materials. In new courses learners are asked to provide an optional ‘Learner Statement’ within portfolios to give their views as to what the course meant to them. This is also proving to be a valuable source of evidence!

Lessons Learned

Most obstacles have been logistical problems such as less than ideal indoor venues for written coursework and a high demand for childcare places. In all cases obstacles have been turned into opportunities with venues being adapted by bringing in equipment and large numbers of children needing childcare being seen as an opportunity to involve the children in Family Learning!

The most important lessons learned from the project were to be prepared in future for the huge time costs involved in development of the course materials and resources. Difficulty in accessing childcare for learners with pre school children highlighted the need to secure childcare provision early in development stages rather than what would normally be considered a ‘reasonable’ time in advance of the course start date.

Working on the principle that ‘all future surprises should be pleasant’ everything after the initial set up of the course exceeded expectations in terms of benefits to learners and their numerous personal achievements!

Future Developments

Groundwork plans to extend the geographical area of delivery to include Derby city and other areas of Derbyshire. The course is now being delivered all year round and future developments include refining the range of activities suited to delivery outside of the main growing season.

Family learning sessions have also been piloted and will become ‘embedded’ into courses wherever possible along with training in cooking skills and cooking on a budget. Learners very often need to find ways of using the exciting new range of vegetables they now find themselves growing!

Contact Details

Contact Name: Alan Withington

Job Title: community food officer

Phone: 01773 841 566 Mob. 07816 025469

Email: Alan.withington@groundwork.org.uk

Website: www.gdd.org.uk

Organisation: Groundwork Derby & Derbyshire

Address: Groundwork Derby and Derbyshire The Bridge centre 43 Cromford Road Langley Mill Derbyshire NG16 4EF

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