News 
Campaign to get schoolchildren gardening receives sponsorship boost
6 March 2009
Girl watering vegetable seedlings
Waitrose has today announced a three year headline sponsorship of the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Campaign for School Gardening.
With over a million children* in the UK already benefiting from the RHS’s Campaign for School Gardening, the new sponsorship will help the RHS to get eight in 10 UK primary schools growing fruit and vegetables by the end of 2010.
Already 94 Scottish schools are registered with the campaign. Perthshire school children are the keenest gardeners, with 25 schools registered, followed by Aberdeenshire (12) and Glasgow (12), Fife (11), Midlothian (9) and Ayrshire (7).
By getting schools gardening, Waitrose and RHS aim to help schools take the curriculum outside and change the eating habits of the UK’s children.
School children will learn how to care for the environment and be inspired to find out more about growing, cooking and eating healthy food at a series of events now being planned by the campaign.
Waitrose Managing Director Mark Price, comments:
“With concerns about childhood obesity at its highest now, it’s essential that we all take steps to tackle the problem.Showing children where food comes from and helping them to enjoy vegetables and eat healthily is essential. Whether a school has a field or a window box, every child engaged in the scheme will be able to grow fruit and vegetables and have fun whilst learning. It’s a fantastic scheme, and our sponsorship shows how committed Waitrose is to the health and well-being of our future generations. “
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*Already over 7,000 schools (94 of which are in Scotland) are involved in the scheme which equates to over a million children across the UK.
Notes to editors
- The Campaign for School Gardening teaches pupils about plants and gardening, while providing resources to help teachers gain the knowledge and skills needed to teach the National Curriculum outdoors and inspire their pupils to live greener lifestyles. Teachers say that gardening activities help to raise pupils’ awareness of how to care for the environment and improves behaviour, social skills and confidence.
- For more information on the scheme visit www.rhs.org.uk/schoolgardening
- For more information on the benefits of gardening to children and their understanding of the curriculum visit www.growingschools.org.uk/support
- Waitrose has 2 branches in Scotland, at Morningside and Comely Bank in Edinburgh, dedicated to offering quality fresh food, value and customer service.
- Waitrose has recently come top in a Customer Service survey conducted by Which?, and has been voted as Top Grocer by Verdict and favourite supermarket by the readers of Good Housekeeping.
For media queries, please contact
Giselle Dye, Pagoda PR, 0131 556 0770 or email giselle.dye@pagodapr.com
Liana Griffiths 01344 825586 or email liana_griffiths@waitrose.co.uk
Georgie Webb 0207 821 3044 or email georgina_webb@rhs.org.uk
