Green-fingered primary pupils reaped the benefits of weeks of hard work yesterday as they harvested crops grown themselves as part of a pilot scheme aimed at achieving a healthy lifestyle.
Woodside, Tullos and Bramble Brae primary schools have all been growing fruit and vegetables as part of social enterprise One Seed Forward’s joint £17,000 pilot project with Aberdeen University’s Education department.
The team will be presenting their findings to Aberdeen City Council next month and hopes they can secure more funding from the authority to roll out the scheme to even more schools across the city.
Project leader for One Seed Forward, Bob Donald yesterday said: “It’s amazing to see what they have achieved in such a short space of time, and it really lets them see that hard work reaps great results.
“We see this as a first step for pupils to learn to grow their own and get their five-a-day.
“We have grown peas, beetroot, spinach and chard and have just harvested a bumper crop of kale – it’s great to see the children a look so proud of their achievements.”
The pupils from primary 5 and 6 were all actively involved in the design of their vegetable patches and in maintaining the spaces and have promised to continue to do so throughout the summer holidays.
Professor Donald Gray from the School of Education at Aberdeen University, said the project had “ticked a lot of the Curriculum for Excellence boxes” and added: “We have seen the children’s engagement increase greatly – it’s active learning and real world learning. One pupil even said that to me – that it was “something real”.
“We have focused on regeneration areas, in some of the poorest parts of the city and the results have been impressive.
“We are now going to write up our findings, but the evidence we have suggests, there are significant implications for learning, health and wellbeing of children – as well as the potential for community involvement.”