Green shoots visible in Finsbury Park

Schools all over London are being encouraged to create new food growing spaces as part of the Capital Growth project. The scheme aims to create 2,012 such spaces by 2012. Journalist and chair of London Food Rosie Boycott was in town this week launching the new schools' gardening competition at Ambler School on Blackstock Road.

Growing-your-own has become increasingly popular in London in the last few years in response to both food prices and concerns about food miles and sustainability issues. Capital Growth aims to help community gardeners find suitable land on which to grow crops.

The campaign has helped over 160 community gardening spaces get started with funding, equipment and advice, and has now set up the schools' project to get younger gardeners involved. The competition runs from now until June 18 this year, and is open to all London schools that have been growing food since January 2009.

Prizes include fruit and vegetable growing kits, a visit from a celebrity gardener, and £500 cash to spend on growing. Mayor Boris Johnson, whose office is funding the project, told schools: "There is much top notch work taking place by green fingered teachers

and pupils across the capital already, which I salute.  Food growing in our schools will help make London a more

pleasant place whilst giving our kids a lifelong skill.'"

Rosie Boycott helped the Ambler pupils to plant their new plot this week. She added: "'Kids who grow their own go on to eat more

healthily and appreciate good, nourishing food. Many kids in London

don't know the magic of seeing a seed flourish into an item you can

eat, or even the names of common vegetables. This is what we want to

help schools conjure up to create a city of micro farms."

All schools entering the competition will receive a welcome pack with seeds, lesson plans and a signed certificate from mayor Boris Johnson, and the first fifty to sign up before March 31 will also get a selection of organic seeds from Duchy Originals.

For more information, please see this page: www.capitalgrowth.org/schools/competition/