SUSTAINABILITY Castlebar kids enjoy seed-to-fork trip

Castlebar kids travel the earthy road from seed to fork


As part of National Science Week, St Patrick’s Boys’ NS recently jumped at the chance to take its Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Class pupils to John Moran’s Castlebar Town Farm and Allotments at Balloor. During their hands-on field trip, they saw science in action and gained a true appreciation of the term ‘Seed to Fork’.
Explaining the day’s proceedings, Mr Moran said: “The children were given the opportunity to see at first hand how crops are actually grown and the variant flavours of fresh, organic and locally produced food.”
The childrens’ imaginations were certainly fired, and they had loads of questions about where food actually comes from and how it grows. “Children have not actually seen it happen,” said Mr Moran, who pointed out that they found digging out carrots particularly exciting.
The children also tasted spinach, Swiss chard, cabbage, fennel, celery, mint, parsley, leeks, garlic, onions and more – and there were no up-turned noses: According to John, the day exploded the myth that kids don’t like vegetables. “All went down very well … children love vegetables, especially when the are full of natural and vibrant flavours.”
Mr Moran noted with satisfaction that the teachers also enjoyed the tastes, saying he could see the pleasure in their eyes as they remembered how food used to taste before our shopping habits changed and convenience and mass production overtook quality. “As I discussed with one teacher, Mr Barrett, people [who taste fresh, organic food] feel cheated in what they have been buying for many years,” he said.
Kevin Gannon, a local gardener and landscaper with a vast knowledge of gardening gave a very informative and fun talk on how the seed actually grows.
At the end of the trip, all the children were given ‘Go Home Seed Packs’, so they could try their hand at growing food themselves.
Hopefully, they’ll reap the rewards come harvest time, and they can experience the joy of pushing a fork into a plate of veg that they’ve grown from their own seeds.