Farm Urban in the classroom in primary schools, secondary schools, community organisations and on our online learning platform
Our learning, outreach and engagement programmes encourage people to connect with the food systems that create what we eat. They’re designed to consider the most effective behavioural changes in fighting for sustainability.
So far, our education work, Routes and Shoots, has reached over 55,000 students in 45 schools across Liverpool City Region and Wales.
Our 12-week extra-curricular STEAM programme, the Future Food Challenge, is designed for secondary school students. It inspires young people to do science and enterprise differently, through a highly practical, problem-solving approach to learning. With our six-week Future Food Heroes programme, primary school pupils get the chance to learn about circular food growing systems. Through building our aquaponic Produce Pod, they see how fish and plants can grow together to make tasty greens.
The Future Food Challenge is our 12-week student-led,
STEAM and enterprise programme.
We challenge teams of students to design and build their own aquaponics system in the classroom, supported by an interactive digital platform, culminating in a final celebratory event. Student teams have a chance to exhibit their prototype systems and present their business ideas, competing for multiple awards in an exciting Dragon’s Den style pitch.
When students have finished, they have produced:
A prototype, functioning aquaponics system
Vision, mission and identity statements with supporting graphics
A business model canvas including a finance plan
Market research
Data analysis
A marketing campaign plan
A presentation
A competition display board demonstrating their team’s journey
Our six-week Future Food Heroes programme gives primary school pupils the chance to learn about circular food growing systems.
Through building our aquaponic Produce Pod, they’ll see how fish and plants can grow together to make tasty greens. They’ll see first-hand how waste food products can be used to grow mushrooms and how worms and leftovers create compost and natural fish food. And they’ll understand how, in nature, everything has a use.
Working together, pupils are inspired to eat healthily and sustainably through growing food in our Produce Pod. Bringing innovative science and research into the classroom means that pupils can be scientists, encouraging them to be curious, fail well and build resilience. They’ll be ready for ‘jobs of tomorrow,’ building cutting-edge green skills ready for the future.
The programme includes:
A day of interactive workshops – challenging pupils to build their own aquaponics system, grow mushrooms and get hands-on with compost
A Produce Pod aquaponic system for your classroom – grow fish and plants together in their own ecosystem
A mushroom growing kit – source waste food products to grow edible mushrooms
A miniature worm farm – raise worms on food waste to create compost, natural pesticide and fish food
Access to our online platform – a full set of resources to deliver our six-week programme, supporting pupils to develop their own ideas to tackle environmental issues through hi-tech food growing
Our Community Edible Wall programme is a six-session programme for adults, to introduce the topic of hydroponics.
Our Community Edible Wall programme is a six-session programme for adults, to introduce the topic of hydroponics. Participants build their own hydroponic system – an Edible Wall – to grow leafy greens. They learn how to sow seeds, transplant seedlings into the wall and harvest the produce, as well as maintaining it. Participants work as a team, and together think of how their hydroponic system could be used to enhance heath, wellbeing and sustainability in their community.
The Edible Wall is a smaller version of the towers that Farm Urban uses on our farm, to grow food hydroponically. Farm Urban is installing Edible Walls in a variety of spaces, from Bruntwood’s Grade II listed Cotton Exchange building to Make Hamilton’s community café.
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We are a group of people-focused innovators, disrupting food and education systems, shifting behaviors to become healthier and more sustainable.
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