ARMADALE ACADEMY

Pupils from Armadale Academy have been learning more about where their food comes from.

Over the past few months the Home Economics department has linked up with Beechbrae Wood in Blackridge.

The hospitality students from S3 to 6 have been learning about the importance of sourcing sustainable Scottish ingredients and cutting down on food waste while becoming aware of some of the wonderful flavoursome vegetables and fruit being grown at Beechbrae and in the local area.

The project, funded by the Scottish Government’s Good Food Nation grant has encouraged our students to explore the deeper issues of the politics, ecology and ownership of food.

Teacher Anna Divers said:“In December we learned a bit about where our ingredients came from and the advantages of using organic farming techniques.

“We tasted organic food grown in the Lothians, compared to supermarket imports.

“We also made a visit to Beechbrae where we learned about the interdependency between our plants and wildlife, and warmed up with some homemade vegetable soup around the campfire.

“This month, we have been involved in some seed planting and composting, and held a ReadySteady-Use-Up-Leftovers cooking challenge in the classroom, with some really creative and tasty results.

“A big thank you to Beechbrae and Rachel Butterworth who have really brought this part of the curriculum to life for us and inspired us to use our Scottish ingredients well.”