A Seed of Inspiration

A seed is small, tiny even. Still, within its coating it carries the origin of life. Given the right conditions, seeds can grow into plants that we need for food, shelter, clothes, fuel, and fodder for our animals. Plants that are essential for human life on earth.

To see a seed wake up and stretch its first leaves towards the sky, whilst firmly positioning its roots in the ground is intriguing. 

To put your hands in the soil and learn the basics of growing your own plants is amazing.

To understand the connection between food, biodiversity and climate change is crucial.

Unfortunately, children today grow up in a society struggling with several global challenges, such as the climate crisis and the ongoing loss of biodiversity. The recent pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine have also raised issues as the importance of food security and the vulnerability of being too dependent on import. Knowledge of the fundamentals in growing food is therefore more important than ever.

With this in mind, NordGen has created this educational package targeting pre-schools and primary schools with the aim of inspiring children to learn more about food and gardening by putting their hands in the soil. This cultivation handbook is written in Lithuanian and has been used by teachers and pupils there as part of the NordGen-project "See, sow and taste".

As the Nordic countries’ knowledge center for genetic resources, NordGen has a mission to disseminate information on biodiversity important for our Nordic agriculture and forestry. This is our way of doing that in a hopefully fun and inspiring way. 

We hope that you will have a wonderful time teaching your pupils about the fundamental issue of growing plants for food. Get your hands dirty! Let the kids play, listen to them discussing.

And above all – have fun!