Lee Connelly sees schools as the “epicentre of children’s gardening.” The podcaster, also known as the Skinny Jean Gardener, has been campaigning for horticulture to be part of the curriculum for years. He launched his own initiative to help make this happen – School Gardening Success – and was recently announced as the gardening and horticulture expert for this year’s Jamie Oliver Good School Food Awards.  

He met Jamie Oliver nine years ago and has wanted to work with him ever since. “He is such a powerhouse for food education and trying to get children to eat healthier within schools.” 

The opportunity finally came about following Connelly’s appearance in the House of Lords last year, when he gave evidence to the Horticultural Sector Committee on the need for horticulture to be added into the curriculum to raise awareness of it at an early age. This sparked a conversation on how gardening could be incorporated into the Good School Food Awards, with Connelly focusing on the sustainability side of those growing their own food. The winner of the Sustainability Stars award will receive Connelly’s School Gardening Success programme, which includes online tutorials and how-to-guides for primary school pupils to learn how to grow their own plants.  

“We’re hoping to make more of this over the next few years and try to bring different industries on the same path together. Bringing food and gardening education together is important, so it’s a good partnership.” 

Lee Connelly (also known as the Skinny Jean Gardener)

His passion for getting horticulture into schools came from gardening with his eight-year-old daughter, something he says brought them closer together. Recognising that some children might only have a balcony or a windowsill at home, Connelly says schools can provide an outdoor space and kickstart a passion for gardening while their young.  

It’s a lot of pressure for schools though, he admits. As a school governor, Connelly understands how much teachers are having to juggle on a day-to-day basis. The horticulture industry therefore needs to help guide schools and make it “as easy as possible” for them to include it in their lesson plans.  

“When the witnesses to the Horticultural Sector Committee put their evidence together, they put to government that there should be a separate horticulture lesson that should be done as part of the curriculum. That got knocked back, and I don’t necessarily agree that that’s the way to get it into schools. If something goes into the curriculum, something has to come out. So, I think we should be getting horticulture to complement lessons.” 

This could be counting seeds that are going to be planted or measuring gardens as part of a maths lesson, for instance. “There are simple ways that we can bring it into really early years, and that’s why primary schools are the main focus for me.” 

School Gardening Success is helping to achieve this, though Connelly says this has evolved as his understanding of the education system has grown. At the start of 2020, he embarked on a tour across the UK to get 10,000 school children gardening, giving away loads of equipment to schools to help them to do this. But there was a snag.  

“Even in my daughter’s school, the equipment was just sitting inside a cupboard not being used. I realised that it doesn’t matter how much free stuff you give to schools, if teachers don’t have the guidance and support, then it won’t happen. So, we started School Gardening Success to do just that.” 

“The biggest advice I can give to teachers and schools is to start really small, succeed at that space, and then very slowly grow it”

Initially, the programme offered 30 lessons throughout the year. “In my mind, we were giving them real value for money. It costs to get a package to ensure a school is invested, so we wanted to provide them with as much as possible. But we were giving them too much to do, which was overwhelming. So, we’ve reduced this and we re-filmed everything to make it easier for classes.” 

He suggests all schools start small when it comes to introducing gardening. “I saw the other day that someone had redesigned a school garden, which looked incredible, and they’re going to throw a load of money at that school to build the garden. The problem is that, if you don’t start small, getting people to care and build a community around that space can be difficult. So, you’re going to end up with a massive school garden and no-one to look after it. The biggest advice I can give to teachers and schools is to start really small, succeed at that space, and then very slowly grow it rather than going all in. If they’re not starting that garden from the beginning, with their teacher, who’s on the journey with them, then there’s not that sense of community around that space.” 

For Connelly, encouraging children to garden is not just about addressing the green skills shortage. It’s about creating a healthier generation by teaching them to grow their own food. “If they know where their food comes from, they’re more likely to eat healthier because they know the journey from field to fork.” 

Being part of the Jamie Oliver Good School Food Awards is a milestone in terms of getting this message across. But it’s not an easy mission, says Connelly. “It takes a lot of time to get these conversations started. It’s a long road. My daughter turns nine in June, and I don’t think she’s going to see the benefits of this, but hopefully her children might. There are so many moving parts to actually getting gardening into the curriculum, but we as an industry can lend our voice and guidance to play our part in that.”