Case study: ESOL and Community Gardening
Learn how Islington Council's Adult Learning Service combines English language (ESOL) classes with community gardening to improve language skills, mental health and sustainability.
Empowering adults through language and sustainability
Islington Council Adult Learning Service has been making waves in the adult education community with their innovative ESOL and community gardening course. Through a unique programme, learners not only learn English but also gain valuable gardening skills and knowledge, promoting environmental awareness and sustainability. Learners are empowered to connect with nature, learn new skills, and contribute to a greener future.
Collaborative delivery
Islington benefits from ESOL providers, community centres, and plant nurseries which run food projects. For this project, we worked closely with Octopus Community Network at their Community Plant Nursery. Our ESOL teacher and the Community Gardeners from the Plant Nursery co-delivered the programme, bringing their skills and expertise together to deliver a successful course.
Holistic impact: language, health and social integration
Learners are gaining skills that they go on to use at home and in their communities, some growing tomatoes in window boxes and on balconies. They are excited to revisit skills that they remember their families using in their home countries. Discovering new fruit and vegetables has had a positive impact on their vocabulary, and we have lots of examples of learners from different cultures swapping seeds and introducing each other to plants that they grew at home.
The project strengthens communities and gets learners into the open air in all weathers. Learners are given the opportunity to volunteer at other local plant nurseries and with other food projects in the borough, sustaining the ‘grow your own food’ movement and giving learners a sense of community, as well as helping them gain transferrable skills they could take into the workplace. Learners tell us that the course has been good for their physical and mental health. We are planning on running more courses in the Spring and Summer terms.
For further information about this programme, you can contact Simon Fuller, Curriculum Manager Adult Community Learning, at [email protected]
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