Comminigrow morning in East Malling

The sun shone bright for our team of 12 Eco Warriors this morning on our wonderful trip to Communigrow in East Malling. Communigrow is a sustainable food education charity.
We learnt so much about how we can decrease our greenhouse gases to help slow down global warming. This was by learning how we can grow our own food which in turn uses less energy and is way more healthy.
It was fascinating to learn about how many different types of composting methods there are. We saw them in action too. The children loved learning about the wormary. The site also has composting toilets. They are completely off grid. They have solar panels which supply’s energy, it is then stored in huge battery’s. This enables them to have lights, use a kettle and even charge their strimmers and lawnmowers which are re chargeable. All the water is harvested from the rain for watering the plants and vegetables they grow.

We learnt how to create raised beds using the ‘no dig’ method. The children were able to have a hands on go at this. It’s so easy and really great for the environment. The reason for this is because you are not turning the soil, you do not release any stored carbon and you also do not disturb the amazing eco system in the soil. There are microscopic bacteria, fungi and earthworms which remain undisturbed creating a healthy ecosystem that feeds plants. A big benefit is that you have a lot less weeds!

The children were so enthusiastic and all learnt some great stuff. We will definitely use some of this new found knowledge for our school garden to help create a fantastic kitchen garden. 🥬🍅