The potato project at École des Vergers – Meyrin
The« potato project » is a great way to introduce children to nature, the vegetable garden and ecosystems in general, using a vegetable that’s familiar to everyone: the potato!
Initiated by Bioterrathis program, which has already proved its worth in German-speaking Switzerland, will make its debut in French-speaking Switzerland in 2024, with the Vergers school in Meyrin‘s Vergers eco-neighborhood as its first school.
Discover the world of plants by growing potatoes
The focus of this training program is, of course, the potato, and in the course of the 7 interventions with the students, we discussed..:
- The origins and history of this tuber
- The soil, where the plant grows
- Planting pdt
- Companion plants and natural protection tools
- Seedlings (other vegetable garden plants)
- Water and natural resources
- Risks to crops
From tuber to plate
The final activity, after the harvest, involves cooking a potato-based dish together. The recipe is chosen democratically by the students. This combines civic education with the garden project.
High-quality teaching aids
Bioterra provides teaching aids to accompany the project. Clear and adapted, they help children to understand the theoretical content. At the same time, they enable them to share what they’ve learned with their families.
A great collaboration
The Vergers school is bordered by the grounds of the Vergers farm. This allocates plots to the Vergers vegetable garden association. Who, in turn, have given us the use of several vegetable plots.
To maintain the soil’s fertility, we also called on the Meyrin municipality’s parks and promenades department. They kindly offered us 1m3 of compost.
Not to mention the work of bioterra and the teacher for their commitment throughout the year.
Harvest day!
Despite a difficult season, with frost on the first shoots in April and torrential rain in May… The class pampered the crops and achieved a more than respectable result!
In mid-June, the students harvested almost 10kg of potatoes!
As soon as they were harvested, the tubers were cooked on the spot and transformed into French fries, much to the delight of the students.
Divresity and teamwork brought to the fore by potatoes.
