Seed to soup spoon
The Carsphairn children’s group, Bairn Banter have had a very productive and hands on learning experience focusing on producing their own food for free.
The children and parents began a garden project in the beginning of the year when they took responsibility for a section of disused ground and looked into purchasing a raised bed and bags of compost, which was funded by Blackcraig Windfarm fund via Carsphairn Community Council. This then allowed the children to begin sowing pea, carrot and cabbage seeds, plus onion sets and donated potato tubers.
Each Saturday the group of children and parents would then carefully tend to the micro vegetable patch by weeding, thinning and watering to ensure the best plant growth throughout the spring and early summer months. The children engaged in a wealth of learning opportunities from bug hunting, colour matching, plant identification, soil structures and overall plant welfare and care.
In recent weeks the children have enjoyed the fruits of their labour, as they feasted upon the tasty peas and strawberries picked fresh from the plants. The group have also dug up a couple of the plants in recent weeks to share out the produce amongst families to take home for them to enjoy.
Collectively, the children decided that they would like to make some soup using the produce from the garden, so the parents of the volunteer group helped the children to make this happen. Attendees to the session helped dig, pick, wash and prepare the ingredients fresh from the garden to create the “most delicious soup that I have ever tasted”, according to a Bairn Banter attendee (aged 4).
Melissa Ade, Bairn Banter