School Permaculture Clubs

The programme trains and provides teachers with the information and basic resources they need to run an after school permaculture club for up to 40 pupils.  They are practical based sessions which see the children doing a mixture of work both around the school site and in their own small garden beds, where they harvest for themselves.  There are also different forms of support to the teachers throughout the year, regular teachers meetings, visits to the school site, advice and some basic necessary equipment.  As this project is growing so quickly at the moment often there are a lot of organisational and feedback tasks for volunteers to get stuck into.  

Using the garden as a learning tool for the children has proved very successful, both for food production and environmental issues. With Josie Redmonds’s passion for the environment she has taught many teachers and community members and Permaculture Design Courses have also been held at Butterfly Space which offers another great training opportunity.

If you are interested to volunteer in this area then you can:

• Work with Francis (on-site permaculture gardener) or Josie in the gardens to plant new crops and species which can be used for the schools. Diversity is the key in Permaculture. 
• Help out with the organisational aspect of the growing MSPC project;
• Help at the schools, especially during busy periods where they have open days and visits to other permaculture sites.  
• Help at the schools during their weekly practical sessions, or arranging extra sessions with the kids.
• Use produce from the garden to demonstrate new recipe and nutrition ideas during one of the weekly sessions.
• Assist with data analysis for the increasing number of schools taking part.
• Help fundraise so that more schools can join this programme.
• Plant tree seedlings at Butterfly for transplanting later at schools.

• Paint signs to label more trees around Butterfly and to add to the Butterfly nature trail which is now open for school visits and teacher training. This is also linked to the information in the nutrition folder.

• Help with landscaping around the site at Butterfly or at the schools.
• Help to maintain and develop sustainable practices around Butterfly Space for demonstration purposes during school visits and teacher training, such as the drip irrigation system and solar water heaters.