The BPC is to begin adopting schools. These ‘adoptions’ will be part of an initiative designed to educate children about potato production. The ‘Adopt a School’ initiative is an extension of the ‘Grow Your Own Potatoes’ project launched back in 2005.
BPC marketing manager Catherine Lange is keen to get farmers involved in the initiative. “Our aim is to get every potato grower in the UK to adopt a school near them as we want farmers to have regular contact with schools in their area,” she explained. “It’s all about getting children to understand how potatoes are grown and where they come from, while it also provides an opportunity to talk about the fact that potatoes are a healthy food item.”
The project will also form part of Defra’s Year of Food and Farming initiative, which is taking place during the next academic year in schools and aimed to show children where food comes from.
Now in its third year, the BPC ‘Grow Your Own Potatoes’ project encourages schoolchildren to plant their own Rocket seed.
“We now have over 4,000 primary schools taking part, which is up from 1,100 schools who grew potatoes last year and that number has increased a lot because of the good work already done by many potato growers in schools.”
As many farmers have already been forging links with schools, the BPC hopes the initiative will add to that success.
“We have created a farmers’ pack, written for the BPC by educational experts, which brings together all our different resources to help farmers give presentations to children on potato production either in the classroom or by hosting visits to potato fields, for example.”
The pack, which can be downloaded from the BPC website, includes lesson plans and quiz ideas, focussing on all aspects of potato production from planting through to storage and retailing.
“We will be monitoring which schools have been adopted and we aim to produce more information to help farmers involved with schools throughout the year,” she added.
No comments yet