By Mazz Brown with kind contributions from Anna Kinross
Did you celebrate Zero Waste Week?
We painted our faces with berry juice, banged drums with celery drumsticks and fashioned bunting from beautiful streamers of carrot peel (one of these statements is almost true…)
Inspired by this brilliant initiative- very much in alignment with our values- here at the Secret Garden we did in fact use it as an opportunity to think about how we are eating, how our energy needs at this time of year are changing while we’re in the woods, and how to try and save as much as possible from the compost and rubbish bins.
It was an indecisive summer, capricious weather softening into an autumn that announced its presence mildly. While some fruits and vegetables have stretched their harvests beyond the traditional window, others have been and gone in a skylight.
At the Secret Garden, perfectly ripe raspberries were still being devoured in the second week of October from bushes sparse of leaf. Brambles and elderberries have almost gone, while elsewhere tomatoes still ripen on the vine.
Such eye-watering abundance of some crops juxtaposed with limited time to make use of others can be tricky to manage and throw up some challenges when it comes to reducing waste.
There are a wealth of good recipe ideas here, as well as a handy tool if you happen to have a glut of any one thing:
Due to significant efforts on the part of every age group involved in the Secret Garden community, we have seen the Grow Your Own Snack initiative through from germination to fruition; securing funding, building and planting up new raised beds, sourcing new cooking equipment and upskilling staff, volunteers and children alike.
There has been a lovely feeling of the cycle completing as we have enjoyed this bounty, supplementing our snack provision with more variety, and demonstrably emboldening the children to try new things. One staff member reports seeing children consuming mouthful after mouthful of chard, even arriving in the park at the end of the day still clutching and chewing vegetables from the garden!
Here at the nursery, crumbles and soups have been an excellent, nutritious and relatively straightforward way to use up our produce, and have been a hit with the children, who appear to really relish the chance to help with the picking, preparing, cooking and tasting.
Next, pumpkins, possibly one of the most intimidatingly fibrous of all vegetables, have had their short-lived time in the spotlight-quite literally, when carved into lanterns. But they are an excellent source of nutrients and also give immune systems a timely boost:
As well as the above recipe ideas, pumpkin seeds can be seasoned and roasted for a tasty snack, flesh diced for one-pan traybakes with any type of sausage, or steamed and pureed to make scones, cakes or pies.
The days are shortening, and as the wind regains its edge, we are also inclined to look at the lunches we all bring from home to enjoy in the woods, and how these can best support our ongoing health and vitality in the months to come.
On a typical day, every member of the nursery community will spend time sitting down, sometimes for long periods if they are immersed in play. As no season should put a stop to this, we find that warm and energy-rich foods are particularly beneficial for keeping metabolisms ticking along happily, imaginations firing and faces smiling.
Porridge, beans, pasta, soup, leftover stew or casserole in an insulated thermos are all excellent, popular options.
For children who are completely resistant to warm foods whatever the weather, a flask of warm juice, hot chocolate or tea is a great accompaniment to their cold lunch.
“I love a cuppa tea,” a five year old Secret Gardener reliably informed us recently.
How we transport our food is another thing we must always consider. The scourge of single-use plastic is everywhere and almost impossible to avoid. In our snack provision, the majority of the food we provide is stored in reusable containers, yet there is still an unavoidable element of waste that cannot be reused or recycled.
Being where we are, in an entirely rubbish-bin free woodland with the onus on us to take away what we don’t need, we frequently reflect on how much waste we are all personally bringing, and how to reduce this as much as possible.
Home baking is a great way to help with this, particularly in the cooler months when carbohydrate needs are increased. This is an excellent choice for so many reasons; almost all children love to help and may also be more inclined to eat something they have helped prepare, having autonomy over ingredients enables full control nutritionally, as well as alleviating worry over any dietary restrictions/allergies, baking can be done in bulk and frozen in appropriate portions for a quick addition to lunchboxes, and packaging at home allows you to reject plastic in favour of more sustainable materials.
Metal tiffin boxes, Tupperware, thermoses and wax wraps are all welcome and frequent visitors to the woods, washable and reusable-as well as another opportunity for children to exert their independence in looking after their belongings, as these will all return home.
This recipe from the Secret Garden cookbook is a great example of a nutritionally dense, easily portionable and allergen-free option, kindly donated from the Pillars of Hercules farm shop and cafe. Feel free to substitute with other types of fruit/seeds if preferred.
Further resources:
https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutrition-for/toddlers-and-pre-school
https://thebigplasticcount.com