School meals go back in time

To mark the launch of the city's Year of the Environment 2009, students will be stepping back in time to an age where there was no electricity; growing vegetables to be used in school dinners; baking green fairy cakes and holding special fayres selling recycled goods. Children at Garston Church of England Primary School will be dressing up as cave men, Victorians and medieval princesses and experiencing a whole school day without electricity. Going back in time, dinnertime will see the electric ovens switched off and Scouse cooked on gas will be served. Girls at Holly Lodge will be digging a brand new allotment, creating a whole new area in which they will grow vegetables to be used in school meals. And the food theme continues at Fazakerley High School as pupils bake and sell green fairy cakes. All the money made from the environmentally-themed cakes will go towards making and decorating bird boxes for the school gardens. The city council's executive member for the environment, Councillor Berni Turner, said: "This is an absolutely fantastic start to our Year of the Environment and I hope it is a sign of things to come. "The next generation really are the future of Liverpool and we want to make sure they're as environmentally aware as possible. And of course you can never underestimate the strength of pester power, so whatever the young people learn in school they'll take back to their homes and influence their families."