Grow Your Own Potatoes – support your local school

Thursday 4 March 2010

During the week of March 15^th, 450,000 pupils, from over 11,000 primary schools, will be planting potatoes as part of the national Grow Your Own Potatoes project (GYOP). Organised by Potato Council, this unique project offers children an exciting and hands-on opportunity to see at first hand what it takes to be a potato grower!

To celebrate the start of the biggest GYOP project ever, Potato Council is inviting media to visit a local participating school as the children plant their seed potatoes.

Supporting your local school will provide fantastic photos, soundbites and interview opportunities.  For many children, who have never seen a seed potato (have you?), or planted anything before, this activity is not only educational but great fun too. Wonder, delight and curiosity are just some of the reactions you can capture as the children really start to understand how potatoes grow.

Ways in which you can support your local school this year include:

• Attend a planting event w/c March 15^th, when your local participating schools will be joining thousands of other schools in planting their seed potatoes
• Follow a school's progress throughout the competition as the children carefully nurture their plants - they will be watching the weather carefully with their very own classroom weather poster supplied as part of the GYOP growing kit
• Revisit your local school w/c June 21^st as the pupils harvest their crops, and see the delight on the children's faces when they unearth the results of all their hard work. At this stage they are also in with a chance to win a range of prizes on offer*
• Why not even join in by growing your own potatoes and compete against your local school to see who grows the most? To make it fair - the GYOP team will supply you with the same kit that the schools receive. 

Interested? Then we'd be happy to put you in touch with your nearest participating school.  Please contact David Gough or Bianca Capstick on 01189 475 956 or bianca.capstick@ceres-pr.co.uk  to arrange or for further information.

Where possible, a potato grower or packer will also attend planting or harvesting events, so you can have the full story, including why Britain's potato industry is funding such an important initiative in primary schools. Here's what some of the past participants of GYOP have said:

"The children had great fun growing and harvesting their potatoes and they learnt so much too. For children, nothing beats being able to see things for themselves and this is an excellent educational activity that really brings 'how things grow' to life." Karen Dhanecha, Head of Park Way Primary School, Maidstone

"Learning about potatoes is fun!" Reception class pupil, Clatford CEA Primary School in Andover

The GYOP project is supported by a website, linked to the curriculum, which features photos, stories, webcams, messages and tips for growing.  Visit www.potatoesforschools.org.uk, which has had a fresh make over for 2010, to find out more, or follow us at twitter.com/potatoes4school.  

 Ends

For further information contact:

David Gough or Bianca Capstick
Ceres
Tel: 0118 947 5956
M: 07884 353 474
E: david.gough@ceres-pr.co.uk / bianca.capstick@ceres-pr.co.uk  

Editor's notes  

• Potato Council, supporting the British potato industry, is funded by potato growers and potato trade purchasers and is part of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (www.ahdb.org.uk) 
• The Grow Your Own Potatoes project supports the primary school curriculum with a focus on the importance of a healthy balanced diet, where food comes from and how things grow. A Teachers' Centre with lesson ideas and worksheets (covering science and other areas of the curriculum) is available at www.potatoesforschools.org.uk 
• *The pupils that grow the heaviest crop of potatoes will win an allotment makeover for their schools including design, build and all the plants needed to get started. There is also a whole host of fantastic runner up prizes available, including eco-friendly picnic tables, and playground benches and Sutton Seed vouchers care of The Sun newspaper 
• For consumer information on potatoes visit www.lovepotatoes.co.uk for recipes, hints and tips on cooking with different varieties of potatoes and nutritional information