Grow Your Own Picnic (Summer 2016)

Grow Your Own Picnic 2016

Sow it. Grow it. Share it! - Summer Term 2016

A celebration of summer, sunshine and food growing in your school playground.

Plant a seed, and watch your school garden grow.
Then share a delicious home-grown lunch with your friends, school and community – on your very own Picnic Day!
Learn how to grow, cook and prepare home-made dips, sandwiches, salads, and desserts – packed full of nature’s goodness. A picnic feast for the whole community.

Free activity pack!

Grow Your Own Picnic 2016 schools activity pack (Download 4,63 MB)

FREE Grow Your Own Picnic schools activity pack – to help you get started. Jammed full of Grow Your Own Picnic growing and cooking activities, learning opportunities, competitions, events and freebies. Download pack above.
Picnic Growing and Cooking Advice
Picnic Competitions and offers
Picnic Events and Training
Share your school picnic news

Register for our free E-newsletter to be the first to hear by emailing and we will send you lots of Grow Your Own Picnic advice, competition and training opportunities for your school.

Schools Activity Pack - contents

The Grow Your Own Picnic schools activity pack includes:

Growing and Cooking Advice

How to: Grow And Cook Your Own Picnic

Learn to grow and cook exciting picnic ingredients in your school, including growing instructions and recipes for the following:

Potato Salad - grow potatoes, parsley. Recipe.
Broad Bean Dip - grow broad beans and dill. Recipe.
Crudites - grow carrots, radishes and sugar snap peas.
Herb bread - grow chives, rosemary, thyme. Recipe.
Sandwich fillings - pea shoots, salad leaves, cress. Sandwich filling combinations.
Dessert - strawberry and oat meal muffins, fruit ice cubes and lollies. Grow strawberries, blueberries and edible flower petals.
How much is your picnic worth? Try the Captial Growth Harvestometer!

Plus lots more picnic growing tips, recipe ideas and learning resources.

Download the Grow Your Own Picnic pack (above) for top tips!

How to: Involve your local community

Grow Your Own Picnic with support from your local community, including tips on:

Organising community growing activities - including how to get started, working with local community spaces, Seed Guardians, holiday care of your school garden.
Holding community picnic themed events - from produce shows, to garden tours and picnic events.
Working with community volunteers to help you grow - individuals, corporate volunteers and local businesses.

Download the Grow Your Own Picnic pack (above) for top tips!

Grow Your Own Picnic Day – Summer Finale!

Join schools all across London to hold your own Grow Your Own Picnic Day - the grand finale at the end of the summer term!

Plan a bumper picnic crop - ask your students what seasonal food they would like to eat, then plan to grow the fresh ingredients for your picnic. Organise a class photography project to chart the progress of your picnic, from seed to plate and display it at on Picnic Day.
Get everyone involved - get support with growing, cooking and planning your picnic day event from students, parents, staff, local businesses and chefs.
Prepare you picnic food - Invite the local community to help your students with cooking. Book your school kitchen and equipment in advance.
Invite the community- create a poster, school newsletter article, and press release for your local newspaper.
Organise a day of picnic fun - Activities (e.g. games, music, raffle), decorations (e.g. bunting), layout (e.g. comfort, shade), seating (e.g. bring a blanket), garden activities (e.g. tours, workshops) toilets, crockery and cutlery and wet weather alternatives. Tuck in and enjoy together!
Celebrate your picnic success! Share you picnic journey. Upload you photos growing, cooking and Picnic Day photos on our Flickr gallery or tweet us!