Doug Naysmith, the MP for Bristol North West is urging all Primary Schools in his constituency to join animation favourites Wallace and Gromit and take part in the ‘Great Vegetable Challenge’, with a chance to have the garden of their dreams built in their school playground.
As excitement builds for the cinema release of The Curse of the Were-rabbit, the first big screen adventure for triple Oscar winner Nick Park’s Wallace & Gromit characters, the Department for Education and Skills’ ‘Growing Schools’ programme has teamed up with Aardman Animations to encourage more primary schools to create an ‘outdoor classroom’ to help their pupils learn about diet, nutrition and the natural environment.
The ‘Great Vegetable Challenge’ competition will invite every primary school in Bristol to design its own growing area, with the winning school receiving £2,500 to have the garden of their dreams built! Four runners-up will receive £500 to help them develop their playgrounds into a growing area.
In their latest outing, Wallace & Gromit have formed their own humane pest control company, ‘Anti-pesto,’ and are defending village allotments from the clutches of the Were-rabbit on the eve of the annual Giant Vegetable Competition.
‘Growing Schools’ aims to inspire and support schools to teach all subjects within the context of the ‘outdoor classroom’ to enhance curriculum lessons and teach pupils about growing, farming and the environment, and developing an enthusiasm for healthy eating.
As a member of the prestigious Health Select Committee, Doug Naysmith has a particular interest in encouraging healthy eating. After sharing healthy snacks with children at Sansway Nursery in Lawrence Weston, he said “Helping young children develop good nutritional habits is a key factor in their success later on in life. I enjoyed seeing nursery age children tucking into their fruit. Now this campaign will focus on children of primary school age. Everybody loves Wallace and Gromit, so that makes them the perfect characters to get into schools and help children engage in learning about diet, nutrition and nature.
