Mrs Babington, our Food Technology teacher has ambition. Since discovering Todmorden's "Incredible Edible' scheme, which utilises all available space to grow vegetables for the local community, she has dreamed of a similar project at King James. Now, it is about to happen.

In Todmorden, Yorkshire even street planters are used to grow fruit and vegetables, which local people can pick for free. It is the perfect example of a community working together to create something that benefits everyone and it is this idea, combined with her love of cooking with local produce, that drives Mrs Babington.

She explains: "What Todmorden has created is fantastic. Everyone works together to make it a success and I hope to encourage the same at King James. My primary aim is to launch a small scale "Incredible Edible' in the Academy grounds to promote interest in growing, and cooking with, home grown produce."

To help turn her dream into a reality, Mrs Babington applied to the County Durham Sustainability Project Fund, and she was delighted when they agreed to help with some of the start-up costs. However, the organisation has asked that she seek support from local businesses too.

"The business community in Bishop Auckland has been extremely supportive of our school projects in the past," said Mrs Babington. "I hope that they will see the value of this project and be enthusiastic about getting involved."

Students will be directly involved in the planting and maintenance of the plants and fruit trees but we will also need help from members of the community to make sure the scheme thrives. We would like to recruit a team of gardening volunteers who would be willing to share their horticultural knowledge and help us care for the plants. As allotment spaces become more difficult to obtain, we hope that this opportunity will appeal. To get involved in Incredible Edible, please contact Mrs Babington by email m.babington200@durhamlearning.net