CELEBRITY chef James Martin is backing a Yorkshire Water initiative to give children an appreciation of gardening.

The presenter of the Saturday Kitchen show helped launch One Million Green Fingers to coincide with British Food Fortnight and the Government's Year of Food and Farming in Education.

It aims to involve thousands of volunteers in creating sustainable school gardens across Yorkshire.

Research by national school grounds charity Learning Through Landscapes found that learning outside the classroom can help to motivate pupils.

Schools with outdoor learning areas reported that 73 per cent of their pupils had shown behavioural improvement, while 85 per cent said the gardens had increased healthy active play.

Yorkshire Water says that creating gardens in schools teaches children about water conservation, sustainability, healthy eating, the environment and the food chain. Mr Martin, who visited a number of schools during the recent two-day launch, said the initiative supported the Government's healthy eating campaign.

He said: "Gardens and growing produce give kids a chance to interact with all their senses - touch, hearing, sight, smell and, at the very end, taste.

"This is how I got involved with food in the first place and I commend Yorkshire Water for taking a giant step forward."

Company corporate affairs manager Richard Sears said: "What makes the campaign unique is the commitment of our volunteers to work closely with schools on an ongoing basis to create fantastic, beneficial outdoor growing areas."

Schools in Yorkshire can register to take part at the greenfingers.yorkshirewater.com website.

If chosen, teams of Yorkshire Water employees and contractors will help to create gardens in their schools.