Do you remember ever doing any gardening at school when you were a kid? The answer will probably largely depend on what school you went to.
But nowadays more and more schools seem to be teaching their pupils about gardening, and the many benefits it can bring them. Several schools in Wales have recently reported that they started showing their pupils how to grow things. Purple carrots were given as the example which got kids interested – and it wouldn’t be hard to see why!
Learning how to grow vegetables and herbs at school may not seem to be the kind of thing that will really delight kids. But these experiments have proved that the learning process has carried on growing when the children have gone home. Many of them are now doing things in their own garden. And we have read more and more reports in recent months that point to children bugging their parents to buy the things they need to grow their own vegetables at home!
There is no doubt that this is more than just learning. Many people enjoy gardening in adult life, and learning how to get started at a young age will really stand these kids in good stead when they finally get a home and garden of their own.
And of course with the recession in full swing the idea of growing your own vegetables has definitely developed in recent months. More and more people are looking to save money, and growing things like tomatoes, herbs and even potatoes isn’t as hard as you might think.
The trouble is that we have become a society that likes quick and easy convenience foods. But there is nothing that equates to actually being able to go out in your own back garden and dig up some spuds for dinner. As anyone who has already ‘grown their own’ will tell you, the rewards and tastes of having done just that are second to none.
So perhaps there will be a silver lining that will come out of this recession. If we all start growing our own things again, and getting all the kids on board at the same time, we could be looking forward to a much better – and healthier – future. And just think, instead of our kids being indoors on the PlayStation or watching television, they will be out and about in the garden growing things, digging, planting and much more besides.
Now wouldn’t that be a better situation to be in? And they will learn how efforts bring rewards later on.
It is certainly the case that the kids in Wales love the initiatives that their schools have put in place. And the fact that many of them are going out with their parents without being prompted points to the fact that they are genuinely excited and into this new pastime.
Now let’s just hope they put this initiative in place in all other schools too.