The Greengrocer Guiseppe Arcimboldo, 1590

Teaching resources

1001 Inventions is a teaching pack which highlights the contribution to science and technology of the Muslim world. It includes activities on coffee, raising water, perfume  and classification of plants. Excellent resources which combine the school garden with science and history. KS3

 

 

Stephanie Bunn Grains Education Pack: Looking at culture, traditions and the use of grains in society Federation of City Farms & Community Gardens, 2008 KS2
Cross curricular resource which includes history of grain cultivation, recipes and guidance on how to grow your own.

 

 

 

Eléne Pevec Ethnobotany: Patterns in Relationships Evergreen KS2-3
Looks at the relationship between people and plants based on the cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of British Columbia. Modules include First Nation's philosophy of the earth and life, food and native plants (some of which are ideal forest garden plants).

 

 

Download the RHS poster The Origins of Fruit and Vegetables

Background reading

Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World's Food Plants National Geographic, 2008  hb
Encyclopaedic guide to more than 450 fruits, veg, nuts, grains, herbs and spices, illustrated with beautiful photos. Includes origins, historical significance, botanical facts, uses and culinary tips. Highly recommended for school library.

Food Plants of the World Timber Press, 2005 £25 hyb
Descriptions of more than 350 food and flavour plants, with origins, history, cultivation, harvesting and uses. Over 1000 photos showing plants, flowers and useful plant parts. An alternative to Edible.

Guns, Germs and Steel Jared Diamond, Vintage 1997 £8.99 pb
How human development, particularly agriculture and the domestication of plants, has been shaped by environmental constraints. An 18 part documentary is available on YouTube.

FAO New Light on a Hidden Treasure, 2008
Useful background information for teachers on the history of the potato from its origins in the Andes to its role as a global food in a hungry world.

 

 

 

 

The New Oxford Book of Food Plants OUP, 2009 £20 hb
Beautifully illustrated with paintings, this is a comprehensive guide to food plants from around the world. Each entry gives origins, history, use and nutritional information. Ideal reference book for school library.

The Origin of Plants Maggie Campbell-Culver,  Eden Project Books 2004 £8.99 pb
How Britain's post-glacial wasteland was transformed into a diverse flora by the flow of people and plants from every corner of the globe. Useful for researching history of plants in the school grounds.

Plants of Eden Alison Hodge, 2001 £2.95 pb
Beautifully illustrated story of some of the star plants of the Eden Project - where they come from, how they grow and are used.  

Seeds of Change Henry Hobhouse, Pan 2002 £10.99 pb
The story of six plants – quinine, sugar, tea, cotton, the potato and coca – which transformed human history.

Weblinks

Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) includes a section on 11 major world faiths' history, beliefs and teachings on ecology.

The Victorian walled kitchen gardens at Audley End have been restored by English Heritage and Garden Organic. A full range of fruit, vegetables and flowers are grown using organic methods and will provide ideas for courtyard school gardens.

The British Museum online exhibition, A History of the World in 100 Objects, has several artefacts which relate to pre-historic food and farming, including a Mayan maize god, a bird-shaped pestle from Papua New Guinea, a clay model of cattle from Ancient Egypt and a 7,000 year old Japanese pot used to boil nuts and shellfish. Podcasts of a linked BBC Radio 4 series is also available.

CliffordAWright.com is a source for Mediterranean food. It includes an excellent selection of short articles on food history which is very good on the Islamic contribution to western agriculture and cuisine. Ideal for background research for teachers and older students.

Garden Digest has a selection of over 3,500 poems, sayings and proverbs for gardeners and a history of gardening timeline from ancient times. Very useful source for teachers and students who want to explore the historical context in their outdoor classroom.

Food Timeline is a portal for the history of food arranged in a timeline. From the origins of wheat and rice to fish and chips, this is an amazing resource for teachers and older students, despite an American flavour to recent entries.

Garden History is a mine of information on the history of gardening, attitudes to landscape, plants and animals through the ages, as well as original herbals, recipes and books. Although it focuses on western traditions, it also touches on how these have been influenced by other cultures, especially the Arabs.

The rural Japanese town of Inakadate creates huge murals by planting different varieties of rice. The site is in Japanese, but explore the buttons!

The Tudor Gardens in Kenilworth Castle have been reconstructed by National Heritage. Built in 1575 by Lord Leicester for the visit of Queen Elizabeth it includes herbs and fruit trees and will provide inspiration for creating a similar themed school garden.

Kew Gardens have an excellent series of Information sheets on plants and their uses.

Plantcultures gives in depth information on the history, medicinal properties and instructions on how to grow 25 plants from South Asia. You will recognize the use of many of these plants in your own everyday life, but will also find some facts that might surprise you!

Society for Creative Anachronism researches and recreates the arts and skills of pre-17th century Europe. These two sites include recipes and images of gardening which can be used for project work on medieval history. If you are designing a medieval or renaissance garden, this paper by Jennifer Helse is a good introduction.

Waynesword is a simply incredible online textbook of natural history with extensive information and illustrations on useful plants. Great for research for teachers and students.

 

 

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