Louth primary schools invited to apply for free growing kits and join the 2020 Big Grow

GIY, a not for profit social enterprise helping people to grow some of their own food at home, have teamed up with innocent drinks to launch the Big Grow, an initiative to give primary school children the chance to grow their own tasty food.

Primary schools across Louth can now apply for a free Grow Kit for their school.  Schools can join the “growvolution” by visiting innocentbiggrow.com.

This year, for the first time, the school judged to have cultivated the most impressive grows will receive  €1,000 towards their school garden, adding an extra incentive for the nation’s little growers to get involved and grow crazy.

The Grow Kits are seen as a great resource for the children taking part. The kits include 3 packs of seeds and this year the children will grow peas, cress & baby carrots, 32 growing cups, each student gets their own cup to sow their own little ‘crop’, 32 Compost disc that expands in their cup when water is added, a teacher’s resource booklet which includes lots of fun and educational activities which complement the Irish curriculum, a classroom wallchart so that teachers can celebrate the weekly growing highs and successes and some Star Grower Badges to be given by teachers to the weekly Star Grower.

The campaign has been developed closely with teachers and educational specialists to give aspiring junior gardeners the information and tools to create their own little vegetable patch in their garden, classroom or even on their windowsill. 

Speaking about the partnership GIY founder Michael Kelly said:

"Studies show that children who grow their own food are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables and show higher levels of knowledge about nutrition.

"The children not only learn the science of growing, they also experience the joy of growing and eating their own food. GIY calls this ‘Food Empathy', which is a deeper connection with food, and is proven to lead to a healthier life long-term. We are delighted to work with innocent on this once again and we hope these life lessons stay with our growers into adulthood.”

To join #TheBigGrow conversation and pick up tips and advice - follow @innocent on Twitter and @innocentireland on Instagram and Facebook. Register on innocentbiggrow.com.