ACCLAIMED photojournalist Jason Florio and his partner Helen Jones are to trek the length and breadth of The Gambia to highlight the work of Eden's Gardens for Life schools project.

The couple's odyssey will begin with visits to the five participating schools near the western coast and they will then complete an arduous 700-mile circumnavigation of the west African state.

The Gambia is the latest country to join Gardens for Life, the Eden initiative which links 20,000 pupils in schools in the UK, Africa, India and the USA, encouraging them to create gardens, grow food and share stories with others across the world.

The five Gardens for Life schools in The Gambia are all within the Makasutu area looked after by the Makasutu Wildlife Trust.

The trust's chief executive Malang Jambang co-ordinates the schools programme on the ground and keeps in close touch with the Eden Project.

Jason and Helen's venture, A Short Walk in the Gambian Bush, aims to raise awareness and funds for the schools taking part.

Money donated will buy vital equipment such as hoses to connect school gardens to water pumps and wells and fences to keep animals from eating the crops.

Jason says: "Gardens for Life is already starting to do great work in The Gambia. Supporting the project will help the schools in many ways – from providing good quality seeds to buying tools to tend the gardens. It will also enable skilled workers to teach more children and their families about composting, crop rotation, organic ways to increase fertility of the soil, planting orchards and traditional medicinal uses of plants and herbs."

Accompanied by local guides Abdouli Janneh and Mohammed Njie, Jason and Helen will follow the course of the River Gambia, keeping an eye open for crocodiles and hippos.

British-born Jason, who splits his time between London and New York, has spent many years photographing the people who live and work around the sacred Makasutu Forest in The Gambia and with Helen's help has produced an award-winning book, Makasutu – Mecca in the Forest.

Helen is also a frequent visitor to The Gambia and has studied natural nutrition there. The couple's adventurous journey starts in early November and is expected to take two months to complete.