Primary school children from Fanore National School in Co. Clare will be accessing healthier food and getting out in to the fresh air this year as they grow their own food in their very own veggie patch. The school was recently provided with a raised vegetable bed by GIY.
Fanore NS student Hannah Casey won a national “Design a Scarecrow” competition run by GIY at this year’s Bloom in the Park festival in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. Hannah’s scarecrow entry “Hungry Owl” was chosen by the judges to keep birds away from the vegetables in the GIY garden at Bloom. As well as winning a trip to the festival with her family, Hannah won for her school a raised vegetable bed, which was supplied, installed and planted by Quickcrop at the school on behalf of GIY.
According to Fanore Principal Brid Queally the vegetable patch is a vital learning tool. “It’s amazing the impact that this has had in the school,” she says. “The children all want to be involved in growing their own vegetables and helping with the harvest. The other day we harvested potatoes and the children made soup from the spuds. They were all delighted to be involved in the harvesting and peeling. The kids are coming in to school with vegetables in their lunch boxes – they are more conscious of healthy eating now that they see things growing in the vegetable patch.”
Schools all over Ireland are getting interested in growing vegetables and local GIY groups can support schools by providing access to knowledge, mentoring and expertise. GIY Ireland founder Michael Kelly believes that kids have a vital role to play in making home-grown vegetables the norm in Ireland, rather than the exception. “If we can encourage our young people to grow their own vegetables as part of their education, we are giving them a skill that will have a positive impact on their physical and mental health right through their lives. Children are also fantastic advocates for GIYing – they go home all fired up about it, and get their parents involved too. These are the GIYers of the future.”
