‘Nutritious food, a healthy planet and access to nature are fundamental rights every child should enjoy’ – We are bringing The School Food Matters Garden to RHS Chelsea Flower Show. A children’s ‘edimentals’ garden with a very important message, designed by us, for charity School Food Matters at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 (23 -27 May) sponsored by Project Giving Back
We have partnered with School Food Matters, the charity which teaches children about food and campaigns for healthy, sustainable school meals to create an edible, climate change–adapted garden, with youngsters at its heart, for RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023.
Raising vital questions about healthy eating and the future of food production in a changing climate, the garden will highlight why children need to be represented in these discussions. At the end of show week, the School Food Matters Garden will continue to provide social and environmental benefits when it is repurposed to create two pocket gardens – one at a school in London, the other at a school in the north of England – for children to nurture and enjoy for years to come.
The School Food Matters Garden will be in the All About Plants category at the world-famous event and is being funded by Project Giving Back. It will celebrate 15 years of School Food Matters food education programmes which have reached 200,000 children across the UK.
Harry Holding, director of Harry Holding Studio, said: “With the cost of living crisis and rising food prices, small-scale food production is on the increase within the nation’s gardens. This does not mean you have to sacrifice beauty for practicality and convert your outdoor space into regimented productive rows – edible plants can be incorporated into a gorgeous garden too. Our School Food Matters Garden will show how these edible and forageable plants can be used creatively, as well as capture the importance of children engaging with planting and growing, and the huge pleasure this brings.”
Designed as an immersive, forageable and naturalistic landscape, the garden will entice children to explore, inspiring them with a variety of edible, climate-adapted plants along the way. The aim is to stimulate their senses and encourage them to learn about the diversity and bounty of food in nature. With food as a central theme, ornamental edibles (edimentals) are weaved throughout the design, accounting for over 80% of the planting.
Paths will be child-sized, allowing youngsters to create their own imagined worlds as they meander through plants, scramble over boulders and journey past the raw elements of food production – tactile rammed earth walls, reflective water, flowers to attract pollinators and light-capturing grasses. Calming, textural green planting is intersected by bold, colourful ribbons of flowers, all leading to a tranquil place where children can express their views on food and climate change through direct quotes painted on a central wall.
The majority of planting in the School Food Matters Garden will be drought tolerant and resilient for a changing climate. Contrastingly, a natural ‘seasonally wet’ pool will show the realities of British winters and highlight the need to plant appropriately.
School Food Matters Chief Executive Stephanie Slater said: “Over the past 15 years we’ve helped hundreds of schools across the UK to create beautiful gardens for their children to enjoy.
“The impact this has cannot be underestimated. Many children do not have gardens at home, have no understanding of where food comes from and little opportunity to connect with fresh food by growing their own fruit and veg. Spending time in a garden, getting muddy and seeing how plants grow has a remarkable impact on self-confidence, as well as an inclination to eat more fruit and veg. For some it provides a much-needed moment of peace away from the noise and pressures of the classroom.”
“Our garden celebrates all the pleasure, and physical and mental health benefits children get from time spent in nature. It echoes our mission to give children the knowledge and understanding they need to feed themselves and their future families, while caring for the planet.”
“We are very grateful to Project Giving Back and to Harry Holding for this unique opportunity to showcase our vision on an international stage, and to Whole Kids Foundation for their invaluable support. We know our team and all the schools and partners we work with will relish the opportunity. We are excited to follow the garden’s progress, and to see it in all its glory at Chelsea.”
Get your tickets for the show here.
Charity: School Food Matters
Sponsor: Project Giving Back
Event: RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023
Construction: Landscape Associates
Plants: Hortus Loci
Press Contact: Emma Mason
