Homegrown

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MediaActive: Illustrated Books Project

An initiative of Thomas Adams School’s Media Arts Programme and delivered in partnership with Qube Arts, this project has established new opportunities for young people to develop a series of illustrated books that reflect their interests, concerns and creativity.

The young people have worked with the support of artists, designers, and a creative writer, making full use of digital media resources in North Shropshire to research, plan and produce the books. They have determined the themes, generated the ideas, created original writing and artworks, and finally, designed the layout and construction of the books.

The project has worked with 5 groups, has produced 5 distinctive books and has involved key partners: Loppington House, Thomas Adams SEN Department, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Youth Offending Service and the West Midlands Consortium Services for Travelling Children, Schools and Families.

Thanks go to all of the young people aged 14-15 years who have been involved in the making of Homegrown: Mickie, Jack, Matthew, Kelly-Anne, Toby, Alexia, Martina, Sarah, Matthew, Lathan, Bethany, Scott, Ashley, Charlotte and Christopher.

And to Mr Haycocks and the Applied Arts students: Charlotte, Chris, Lucy, Jake, Harry, Danielle, Amy, Jack and Leanne, for their assistance.


Twelve months ago there was no course in Agriculture at Thomas Adams school. There were no raised beds, no chickens, no pigs and no plants. In a relatively short space of time, this exceptional group of young people have built this project from the ground up.

The Agriculture course is designed to replace more traditional Science courses and has allowed each of them to flourish in a more practical environment. Every young person on this course has tried their hand at each activity and can walk away knowing that their hard work will continue growing and standing for many years to come. This book is a testament to that hard work, a ‘How To’ of Growing Your Own by young people who have grown immensely as individuals.

Ben Williams, Teacher.

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Homegrown

The Story so far.

Cleared the Science garden and harvested

the vegetables. Prepared for the pigs

Made a pig pen & Disinfected the pig penMade a scrapbook / Took photographs / Harvested

Learnt about free-range

Fed and watered the pigs and Changed the pigs bedding

Made raised beds for veg.Made compost bins from pallets.Planted fruit trees and bushes.

Made houses for the ducksPainted the duck house Fed and watered the ducks

Swept and cleaned the duck area

the vegetables.

The Story so far.

Cleared the Science garden and harvested

Prepared for the pigs


Cleaned and

sorted out the greenho

use.

Looked after the ferre

ts.

Went ferreting.

Walked the ferrets.

Digging. Visited stables

.

Mucked out and groomed

horses.

Planted hedgesGot chickensFed and watered the chickensCleared turf to plant potatoesPlanted daffodil bulbsVisited farmsLearnt about responsible farmingDesigned sausagesLearnt about pig products

considered healthy eating

sourced ingredientslearnt about animal welfare


Food Miles


Your food is sourced locally and less CO2 is produced getting it to you.

You don't use fuel to ship food from other countries. Also it will be much fresher & better for you.

Your foo

d won't be

fresh.

Food miles

means ho

w far the

food

has had

to tra

vel to

get on y

our pla

te. This

all adds ex

tra fue

l and

cost an

d is bad

for the

envirom

ent.

By “Gr o wing Your Own” you reduce your food miles. This mean s that:

Most food is impo rted but if you gr o w your o wn you get the best


When food is

grown locally it

doesn’t have to

travel so far to

the shop. This

means less car-

bon dioxide to

the planet.

It is making us

think about how

far we go to get

our fruit and veg.

We could reduce this to help the environment.

You don’t have to drive to get

your food – you just walk up the garden

doesn’t have to

travel so far to

the shop. This

means less car-

bon dioxide to

the planet.

the garden


How do you feel aboutHow do you feel about

You are helping the environment.Food tastes better.You feel better because you know where it has come from.

know where it has come from.

Homegrown Produce?

I feel ok because you kno w it is good to eat

More healthyCosts lessMuch tastier.


I think that it tastes better than

buying it from the supermarket

and you know that it is fresh.Homegrown produce makes you feel like you are helping the

environment and it means

fresher fruit and veg.


What is your favourite job on the school farm?job on the school farm?job on the school farm?job on the school farm?job on the school farm?

Looking after the chickens and collecting eggs.

Looking after and walking the ferrets.Pulling up ripe veg.

Planting and harvesting the fruit and veg.

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Lookingafter theanimals.

Plantingthe

daffodils Carryingthe

wheelbarrow

Building the pens for the animals

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funniest thing

Lexi being scared of the chickens.

throwing snow at each

other.

when chris said he

could jump the puddle

and then fell straight

into it up to his waist.

when ashley fell into

a 6ft canal and was

cold all day.

lathan going into the

smelly swamp.

What is the

that has happened to you or one of your class-mates while working on the school farm?

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Being outside, not stuck in a classroom.

You know where it has come from and

how it has been treated.

It is cheaper to grow your own stuff than buying it from the shops.

It's really really fresh.

One great thing about Growing Your Own veg is...

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You get to eat it!You get to eat it!You get to eat it!It is healthier.

It helps the en

vironment.

You can have lo

ads of fun gro

wing your own.

It tastes be

tter when y

ou've grown

it yourself.

You can have load s of fun gr o wing your o wn.

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You need money at the start 1. to buy equipment.

Get your tools.2.

Make sure you have space for 3. the animals.

Think about time make a rota 4. to share jobs.

Prepare your planting areas and 5. source seeds / plants.

What you need

to get started

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Check what the 6. animals need and make sure you can provide it.

Protect your animals 7. from predators, like foxes.

Make sure you have 8. food and water for the animals.

Erect a greenhouse9.

10. Invest in sensible clothing (wellies!).

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If I could give one handy hint to other

students who wanted to start an organic farming project, I

would say.....farming project, I

would say.....farming project, I

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Remember, pigs get very dirty!!

It’s hard work, but fun.

Wear gloves,

wellies and over-alls.

Don't aggravate the ferrets be-cause they will bite!

Wear warm clothes because it is often very cold

and muddy.Don’t think that it is just a doss. It really helps and you can get load s of GCSEs. Just get on with it!

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PigsPigsTopic 1

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We feed the pigs, water them and generally take care of them. The pigs are Gloucester

Old Spots crossed with Large Whites.

If you want to keep pigs you need to keep a constant supply of food and water, a comfort-able bed for them, lots of toys and a lot of enthusiasm!

It is very important that you do not feed household scraps to pigs. If they are fed any meat and the slaughterer finds out you will be sued as it is illegal.

Pigs need lots of mud

They are very clean animals but their environment is very messy!

They depend on their owners.

to keep clean

Old Spots crossed with Large Whites.Old Spots crossed with Large Whites.Old Spots crossed with

It is very important that you It is very important that you do not feed household scraps to It is very important that you do not feed household scraps to It is very important that you

pigs. If they are fed any meat and the slaughterer finds out pigs. If they are fed any meat and the slaughterer finds out pigs. If they are fed any meat

you will be sued as it is illegal.and the slaughterer finds out you will be sued as it is illegal.and the slaughterer finds out

They depend on their owners.

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DucksDucksTopic 2

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In school we are involved with the ducks by feeding and watering them. We also made a duck house out of used wooden pallets. We have helped to sweep up the paths to clean off the mess from the ducks and chickens.

Our ducks are called Bill and Ben. They are Indian Runners.

The ducks get food every day and fresh water. The bedding gets changed every other day. They have a splash pool but they kept getting into the fish pond in the Science garden, so we have moved them to share with the chickens which they like.

They eat poultry pellets.

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They scavenge around in grass for other things

they fancy. To be healthy and happy, ducks need a safe, clean place to sleep, room to wander and scavenge, food and water

(for drinking and splashing), company from other ducks or chickens and medical attention if they are ill.

The Indian Runner Duck is characterised by its short

thigh bones which give it a funny walk which is

comical to watch. They are quiet and well-known for their excellent egg-laying

production.

These ducks needed rescuing so we gave them a home. We plan to get some lady ducks

so they will lay some eggs and hopefully have ducklings.

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Time to fill up the feed ers

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ferretsferretsTopic 3

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We have three ferrets. They are called Max and

Paddy and Scratch. Max and Paddy are albinos

and Scratch is a polecat.

We look after the ferrets by giving them food and water,

cleaning them out, taking them for walks and sometimes we

take them ferreting.

Paddy and Scratch. Max and Paddy are albinos

They eat special ferret food which contains turkey and vitamins.

To be happy and healthy, the ferrets need fresh bedding, exercise and fresh water. Once a month they need fresh meat – chicken.

Ferrets come from the same family as skunks and weasels.

We have learnt a lot about the ferrets and how to look after

them and particularly enjoy walking and feeding them.

The ferrets smell!!!

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chickenschickensTopic 4

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In our school farm we have chickens.

We feed the chickens, give them fresh water and muck them out.

The chickens are all Black Rocks.

Sir's chicken is called Ada and she is a Marron.

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The chicken s eat chicken pellets and they also peck at the grass and eat the little in sects etc.

Chicken s need space and a clean envir onment with food and water that is there frequently. They need to be checked to see if their health is ok.

An interesting fact is that they lay white eg gs, b r o wn eg gs and some lay light blue eg gs.

We includ e chicken s in the school farm because they are easy to look after , are cost effective and because they will lay eg gs that we can sell.

Chicken s need space and a clean envir onment with food and water that is there frequently. They need to be checked to see if their health

An interesting fact is that they lay white eg gs, b r o wn eg gs and some lay light blue eg gs.

We includ e chicken s in the school farm because they are easy to look after , are cost effective and because they

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Veg Beds and Fruit t

reesTopic 5

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We built raised beds to plant our vegetables in.We learnt that fruit and veg are a vital source of vitamin s. They keep us healthy and taste great.

So far we are growing;

Straw

berr

iesRhu

barb

Rhubar

b

Rhubar

b

Rhubar

b

Rhubar

b

apples

Straw

berr

iesRhu

barb

Straw

berr

ies

Straw

berr

iesRhu

barb

Rhubar

b

Damson

s

Straw

berr

ies

Straw

berr

ies

Straw

berr

ies

Straw

berr

ies

Straw

berr

iesRhu

barb

Rhubar

b

apples

apples

apples

Straw

berr

ies

plum

s

Straw

berr

ies

Straw

berr

ies

Damson

s

Damson

s

Straw

berr

iesRhu

barb

Straw

berr

ies

Damson

s

Damson

s

blackberr

ies

Damson

s

Damson

s

Damson

s

blackberr

ies

blackberr

ies

blackberr

ies

blackberr

ies

blackberr

ies

pum

pkins

blackberr

ies

pum

pkins

ru

nn

er bean

s

ru

nn

er bean

s

ru

nn

er bean

s

ru

nn

er bean

s

pum

pkins

pum

pkins

pum

pkins

pum

pkins

pum

pkins

pum

pkins

beetroot

ru

nn

er bean

s

ru

nn

er bean

s

ru

nn

er bean

s

ru

nn

er bean

sbeetr

oot

beetroot

beetroot

broad bean

s

ru

nn

er bean

s

ru

nn

er bean

s

broad bean

s

broad bean

s

broad bean

s

potatoes

onion

sbr

oad beans

potatoes

potatoes

onion

s

onion

s

onion

s

onion

s

onion

s

onion

s

onion

s

onion

s

onion

scar

rots

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We’ve made compost bins from pallets.

We’ve planted fruit trees and bushes.

We’ve also planted bulbs.

We weed and water the beds and feed them when necessary.

We will eventually be able to plant seeds that we have taken from our own plants rather than buying them.

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land-based

Topic 6

machinery

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Land-based

machinery

means

machines li

ke tractors

and other

s

that turn

over the g

round etc.

There are

different ty

pes of

tractors e.g

. John Dee

r, Massey

Ferguson, N

ew Holland,

etc.

They are used for working the ground down, sowing seeds, mowing, spreading muck, collecting spuds, ploughing, pulling trailers, buck-raking, pulling cars out of ditches.

Some examples of tractor/trailer machinery are;

Power harrower

rowing up

feederscraperbailer

Plough

drill

bookrackflatlift

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Work

Topic 7

Experience

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I’m also learning how to lamb sheep, ho

w to cal, how to buck ra

ke

and lots of other thin

gs.

I am learning how to milk

Some of us do work experience in farming. I work on a farm that milks and has sheep

I’m also learning how to lamb sheep, ho

w to cal, how to buck ra

ke

and lots of other thin

gs.

I am learning how to milk

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on a typical day, i arrive at 8am then get the cows up and scrape the beds off with a hand scraper. i then get on the scraper tractor and scrape the cubicles to make sure they are clean for the night. i then go into the milking parlour and scrape that out before getting back on the tractor and pushing all the manure into the lagoon. we then bed the dry cows and finally have breakfast!!!

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i work with robot and dave

this is a milking farm and it has dry cows/ sheep/ calves and chickens

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Topic 8

Visitshomegrown.indd 44 2/3/09 13:40:33

in our group we have been on four visits since the start of the year.

on these visits we learn about how people manage their farms. we also learn other stuff about our course and it helps us to look after our animals.

we visit the farm in different seasons to see the variety of jobs that happen at each time of year.

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The visits are important because they give us information and are interesting.

The best thing about the visits is that we go to other people’s farms and see how they

work.

I benefi t from these visits because I get to spend time with my friends and enjoy the

time looking around and getting ideas and encouragement.I benefi t from these visits because I get to spend time with my friends and enjoy th

e

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our teacher

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best thing about being involved in the school farm

We get to have a good laugh with Sir and we also learn loads about farming

I like the gardening because it is less smelly and I might use it when I have a house with a garden

The highlight is going on trips

The thing I most enjoy about the school farm is that we get to work outside and have a laugh with our friends

The highlight is that we get to look after the animals.

We get to go on trips to farms

worst thing about working on the school farm

The pigs smell and when we walk into our classroom, it stinks of pig muck!

The worst thing is mucking out and getting dirty.

Cleaning out the pigs!!

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The production of this book has been supported by lead artists, Martin Smith, Spencer Whalen and Kerry Davies, with the assistance of Adam Jermaine-Jones, Ben Williams and Penny Brown.

Thomas Adams School


Homegrown

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