National Children’s Gardening Week
Time again to put a focus on gardening and the importance of getting children involved in it.
Why is it important that children from young ages learn about plants, planting and gardening?
Richard Louv, American Author, talks about nature-deficit and that today’s children are not connected with nature and as a result are suffering mentally and physically. It goes without saying that the way children play today is very different from our own. They have technology at their fingertips whereby we played out until late.
We can not ignore that technology is in our children’s lives to stay. However, we can teach children to balance it and it works perfectly by teaching them to balance it with going outside more and connecting with nature.
Gardening is perfect for this! Our next-generation needs to learn where our food comes from, how we feed other wildlife and how to grow and make plants healthy. It is a basic need and one we can not get de-skilled at otherwise we risk a healthy planet and the survival of us all.
Gardening does not have to happen in a lush allotment with mounds of space. This is the dream or a nightmare for anyone new to this! Our suggestion at MPT is to keep it simple. Raised beds on wheels, outside the classroom, are the perfect situation if you have a budget. Otherwise, upcycle! Thick heavy-duty bin liners can work well for potatoes and other veg, ensure a few holes are in the bottom and these can be used to contain your vegetables.
Where do you find the time to plant? This is another difficulty. Often the curriculum overwhelms us and we lose track of time as to when we plant and harvest our plants. That is where we can help, join in on Sunflower Day and Gardening for Kids can help too. Join in on 31st May and plant your pumpkins too!
Where there is a will there’s a way and National Gardening Week is a fun way to put a big focus on this much-needed area. Even the Queen’s garden gets involved!
For more gardening resources and lesson plans from us. Splash this way.