Look at them grow

Seven million adults have reportedly taken up gardening since the pandemic, and a survey has found more children are now growing vegetables with their parents or guardians too. According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), people increasingly understand gardening’s role in connecting us to nature, combating climate change and enhancing wellbeing. And there are huge benefits for children. “Growing plants gives children a sense of purpose as they experience the wonder of nature,” says Jane Lloyd, RHS Schools and Group Engagement Manager. “Outdoor spaces also provide children with places to talk about their emotions, engage in mindful activity or take a quiet moment.”

So important is gardening that it is part of the Natural World Early Learning Goal within England’s Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework, while the Curriculum for Wales embraces the need for children to learn to take care of things in their environment.

Have the basic equipment – soil, compost, trowels, forks, rakes, a wheelbarrow and pots. Start small – windowsill pots are effective and simple. If you don’t have outdoor space, visit garden centres and allotments, and go on nature walks or blackberry picking. Discuss with children how pots should be undisturbed once planted, and what you can do with what you grow, including using plants in drawings, and mud kitchens.

Encourage children to use their senses – what can they see, how does it smell and feel, what does it taste like?

Kate Wright, a childminder in Conwy, Wales, started with a cold frame and some pots before installing a polytunnel with local authority funding via the Welsh Government.

“It not only provides opportunities for gardening but also gives protection from the elements,” she says. “We can do a lot more under cover. We are often exposed to strong winds, but the tomatoes, cucumbers and beans have been a success this year.”

The children don’t need much encouragement, Kate says – they love digging and watering. “I have seen children pick, cook and eat produce and feel more confident to try new food.”

There are also physical and health benefits, including the fine motor skills used in handling tools and seeds, and the gross motor skills in digging and raking. “Gardening is an amazing opportunity for learning – from seed growing to pollinators and composting bugs.”

The benefits for children are huge. “Children make sense of their environment through coordinating their sensory experiences with their physical actions,” says educational psychologist Dr Abigail Wright.

“Young children also seek out certain sensory experiences or inputs to help them make sense of the world. These experiences affect brain development.”

Gardening also encourages healthy eating. “Researchers in the US have found that children are five times more likely to eat salad they have grown themselves,” Abigail adds. “Gardening is a versatile activity that could support the development of almost any topic. It’s a lovely way to teach life skills or lessons – for example, helping to explain complex or abstract processes such as growth and change.”

Angela Andrea, former nursery owner and founder of Kademy, which provides nature-based learning, says gardening teaches self-regulation, resilience, empathy and compassion.

“The children can understand planting, nature lifecycles, weather cycles,” she says. “We provide seasonal planting activities every week. The children learn how to plant things, and see how they grow.”

It’s also a social activity, teaching children to take turns and work towards a common goal.

Ruth Coakley runs Curious Koalas Childcare Services from her home in Caerphilly, Wales. Children in her setting – aged 18 months to 12 years – plant bulbs, go for autumn walks and spot acorns and flowers, and she has created her own version of the Wildlife Trusts’ Hedgehog Award (see Resources). In 2022, she was a runner-up for Business Wales’s Focus Futures Green Goal Award, winning £1,000 to make green improvements.

“The children do nature-driven activities, like wildlife walks where they look for autumn plants with a spotter sheet,” she says. “They get stickers and a certificate, and they really relish it.

“We also grow vegetables and have a compost bin,” she adds. “It teaches them about where their food comes from and the lifecycle of different animals.

“I’ve always got bags in my pockets and the children can collect what they have found, like conkers or acorns. Then it might come into our everyday play. We might mix things in with the play dough or sand or, because we talk about emotions a lot, we might make a smiley or sad face.”

“A garden provides a child-centred and informal environment that can be exciting and invite curiosity, creativity and communication,” says Abigail. “It also provides sustainable resources to scaffold learning experiences.”

Gardening is a fantastic way to learn about the environment, biodiversity and sustainability.

“Gardening gives children the opportunity to nurture

“I plan activities weekly and we think about the seasons,” says Georgina Jones, a childminder based in Farnborough, Hampshire. “It might be a visit to the garden centre, or to the library to look at seasonal books.”

The children do special activities for particular occasions. On Mothering Sunday, for example, they choose their own primrose and plant it in a reused pot for their mums. “The parents send me photos of it growing, which is gorgeous,” she adds.

“It’s sociable because we take it in turns to do things,” Georgina says. “The younger ones dig and talk about what we are doing. In the holidays, the older ones label herbs or strawberries.

“Nothing is wasted. If we have flowers in a vase and they start to wilt, the children can separate them and start to learn about them.”

They also go on local walks, picking strawberries or blackberries. “We picnic outside on these days, so it’s play all day in the fresh air – which makes happy, tired children ready for naps.” plants and see the changes they can make happen,”

Jane says. “It also encourages children to wait and reflect, as you can’t speed up a plant growing.” newspaper pot that goes straight into the earth.

“We’re teaching them about using what we have,” she says, adding that they also

PACEY’s Inspiring Environments toolkit: pacey.org.uk/ inspiringenvironments-toolkit

Organisations can apply for free trees from the Woodland Trust: bit.ly/ Woodland-Trustfree-trees

Ideas for indoor and outdoor gardening with kids, from Barnado’s: bit.ly/ Barnardos-indooroutdoor

The Wildlife Trusts’ Hedgehog Award helps children develop their nature skills and knowledge, with a certificate to receive: wildlifewatch.org.uk/ hedgehog-award

Angela explains that one p ns that one ches children is how to create a biodegradable e plant labels from pla f children will be as interested as you make it.” CP

The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative encourages people to plant trees in memory of Queen Elizabeth II: queensgreencanopy. org/get-involved/ individuals

The RHS Campaign for School Gardening has many resources for those without a garden: bit.ly/ RHS-school-potatoes

The RHS guide for early years settings: bit.ly/RHS-earlyyears