Over three hundred school children Grow Your Own with Kids Country in Peterborough
Over three hundred primary school children have taken part in a Grow Your Own event with Kids Country, the East of England Agricultural Society’s education initiative, with Albert Bartlett, G’s Fresh, Produce World and the support of local farmers. This hands-on event has been designed to help local school children learn about home-grown produce and the impact that weather has on our food supplies, as well as the historical experience of women and children as agricultural labourers in the 19th century.
Sandra Lauridsen, Education Manager for Kids Country, said: “We want children to know the importance of homegrown produce. Our hands-on experience with the children will demonstrate how to plant, grow and enjoy potatoes and mushrooms as part of a healthy balanced diet. We hope children go away from the event with a better understanding of how climate change (flooding) can affect the farmers’ crop and income, and the price we pay in the shops for potatoes and associated products like crisps. Thank you to our sponsors G’s Fresh and Albert Bartlett for making this event such a productive experience.”
The children, from six schools across Peterborough (Orton Wistow Primary School, Newark Hill Academy, William Law School), Stamford (The Bluecoat School), Wisbech (Wisbech St Mary Primary School) and village school Trinity C of E Primary School, Aldwincle, near Oundle, took part in a range of interactive activities. G’s Fresh looked at mushrooms and fungus and the differences and similarities with potatoes, as well as how they scale-up farming to a commercial scale. Meanwhile, Albert Bartlett, supported by staff from Produce World, led workshops on growing potatoes, culminating in the children planting a potato in a pot to take back to school. The children will all return to ‘harvest’ their crops in June, all hoping to win the prize for the highest yield!
Food & Farming Day
There is still time to secure your place at the Kids Country Food and Farming Day on Friday 3rd July, with 500 new spaces just announced. Find out more here: https://www.kids-country.co.uk/ffd/
