"Real" Lettuce at Inverness High School

The recent spate of hot weather has posed a problem for the organisers of a REAL Project (Real Education Active Lives) at Inverness High School as the results of a market gardening project have bloomed much earlier than planned.

A crop of lettuce and herbs is now ready for harvest and project organisers are keen to find customers who would like to buy the summer salads.

Lee Craigie, Highland Council’s Pupil Support Service Worker said: “We weren’t expecting the crop to be ready until after the school holidays but the hot weather has shortened the growth season. We urgently need buyers for the salad otherwise all the pupil’s efforts will go to waste.”

The market gardening initiative is part of the REAL Project which attracted interest in September last year from First Minister Jack McConnell and Education Minister, Peter Peacock. They visited Inverness High School – one of the first 20 secondary schools in Scotland to pilot the Schools of Ambition Programme, which aims to raise the ambitions of schools, instil belief and ambition in pupils, extend their opportunities and transform their life chances.

The REAL projects (Real Education Active Lives) projects aim to provide improvements in the school buildings, the curriculum, the role the school can play in the community and social enterprise that combines the public and private sectors.

MacLeod Organics of Ardersier have worked with a group of pupils and Lee Craigie advising them on preparing the soil, planting, tending and caring for the crop on a site at Inverness High School grounds.

The green, red and rocket lettuce or coriander and parsley will be available for sale (50p per plant) at the market garden at Inverness High School today Monday 24th and Wednesday 26th July from 1 - 4pm when the team will be working at the garden.