Students plant potatoes: a garden project inspires Rhineland-Palatinate!

Students plant potatoes: a garden project inspires Rhineland-Palatinate!

In Rhineland-Palatinate, the school garden project "Kids on the tuber" inspires students to actively immerse themselves in agriculture. At the settlement primary school, the children are allowed to plant potatoes once a year, which not only promotes practical experience, but also contributes to learning the Palatinate. The teacher Muriel Demessier is actively involved in this process and encourages the students to get dirty in order to find out first -hand where our food comes from. The campaign takes place in the context of education for sustainable development and places great emphasis on the relationship of children to nature, which is a central recommendation of the project. Rheinpfalz extraordinary initiative.

On May 1, 2025, Agriculture Minister Ulrike Höfken personally started the project at the Schillerschule in Fußgönheim, where 15 third graders put the first tubers into the ground with their help. This clarified not only the importance of practical agriculture, but also the fun that children can prepare this process. Participating schools benefit from free plant potatoes and teaching material, which deepens knowledge of potato cultivation and agriculture as a whole. mkuem.rlp.de documents the initiatives of the minister.

an integral part of the lesson

The project has established itself as an integral part of teaching since its start in 2011, with each grade overseeing its own bed. Rector Martina Hauck emphasizes how important the topic is for school. Over 400 school classes have already taken part in the “Kids to the tuber” project, and about a ton of plant potatoes are set in the current season.

school garden projects such as "Kids to the tuber" contribute significantly to environmental education and the practical skills of the students. Project content not only enables an understanding of the natural cycle, but also promote teamwork and social skills by working together at the garden. teachersite.com emphasizes the importance of such programs for the awareness of children in terms of ecological nutrition.

The children learn essential knowledge of plants, growth conditions and sustainable cultivation methods, even if not all bio-cultivation rules can be observed. In addition, experience shows that children who are active in the school garden consume more fruit and vegetables - a sign of the successful influence of such projects on the eating habits of the students.