Schools may be closed, but innocent and GIY are calling on teachers to sign up for free food growing classroom kits to welcome children back when the doors are open again.
This is the 10th year of The Big Grow, a campaign started by innocent and GIY to get children growing their own veg at school, helping thousands of schools to get free growing resources. Schools all over the country are again invited to apply to The Big Grow for a food growing kit which comes with five packs of different seeds and enough compost, growing cups, instructions, and fun lesson plans for the entire class.
Although schools are closed at the moment, the kits will be sent once everyone is back in class just in time to start the growing season. The growing cups are easy for children to take home and do the activities from the comfort of their kitchens, too.
The Big Grow has so far helped 1.5 million children to start growing their own veg, and this year more than 200,000 more children in Ireland and the UK will be getting stuck in to learn something new.
“We are so proud to have reached a 10-year milestone of helping children to grow food at school with innocent through The Big Grow," said Michael Kelly, founder of GIY. "When we began this initiative a decade ago it was a novel concept and some might have thought it wouldn't catch on. But the feedback we get from the schools, teachers, and most importantly the children who take part every year re-affirms that this initiative works, be that in urban, rural, or city centre schools.”
Brand manager for innocent drinks Ireland, Rochana Shrestha, added: "We’re big fans of fruit and veg here at innocent and we’re really proud of The Big Grow seeing as it helps kids to grow their own. Over the last 10 years, we’ve made it our mission to reach over half the primary school kids in Ireland with this healthy-eating project, so it’s great that more schools are taking part again this year. Getting kids excited about veg is what it’s all about."
Each school taking part in The Big Grow will be encouraged to share the pupils' growing experiences online in order to be in with a chance of being crowned The Big Grow Champs 2021 and be awarded a school garden revamp.
The winner of the 2020 Big Grow was St Patrick’s Boys and Girls Primary School in Lombard Street, Galway. The school owns a small concrete yard and used the space to create an incredible ‘vertical garden’ using every inch of space and even placing pallets on walls to grow peas, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, and lots more.
“The Big Grow has sparked an interest in food growing among our pupils that helped make our school garden the success that it is," said Jarlath Conboy, principal of St Pat’s. "Last year, that enthusiasm was brought home as many of our children started growing food at home for the first time as well. Although we are a city centre school and many of our pupils do not have a garden at home, we turned concrete patches, balconies, and windowsills into colourful growing spaces. The class essentially brought the countryside into the city in the work that they did. Most importantly, this competition has sown the seeds of a positive attitude towards healthy eating at a young age.
"As schools across Ireland continue to adapt to Covid restrictions, The Big Grow offers the excitement of watching seeds turn into healthy food and a welcome chance to take their learning outdoors.”
Encouraging all schools to get involved in The Big Grow this year, the students of St Pat's have put together their five top tips for school growing success:
Start a ‘gardening club’ and make gardening and growing food accessible to everyone in the school. Many hands make light work.
Look at everything that you have in a new way - all containers can become pots for growing. Find, forage, and re-use.
Prepare your soil. Gather all of the leaves from the playground and create a compost heap for mulch to ‘feed’ your garden soil nutrients. And if your school is by the sea, collect some seaweed on your next nature walk for fertilizer.
Create a rain catcher. We love to collect as much rainwater as we can to water our garden and keep our garden and the environment green.
Make a sensory map of your garden so that visitors can follow it, learn about all the plants that we grow and how they appeal to our five senses. This also makes gardening and visiting a garden lots more fun for those with additional needs.
Teachers can sign up for a free food growing kit at www.innocentbiggrow.com Registration is open while stocks last, and kits will be sent once schools doors are open again, based on Government guidelines.
