PLANT YOUR PANTS - Kitchen Garden Magazine

Today (20th March 2024) The Country Trust is launching its Plant Your Pants soil campaign, asking people to to bury a pair of pants in the soil and dig them up eight weeks later to discover more about the life in the soil.

A survey conducted by ChildWise for education charity The Country Trust has revealed the worrying lack of understanding among children about the connection between the food they eat and the soil. The survey of children aged 7 to 17 highlighted a significant knowledge gap, with around 40% of children saying they either don’t know or don’t believe soil is important for the production of the food they eat. This revelation is particularly alarming given that 95% of food, and therefore all human life, depends on soil, and it’s under significant threat.

The survey also found that around a third of children don’t have the opportunity to put their hands in soil – either through play or soil-based activities such as gardening – at home or at school. The findings reinforce the Country Trust’s call for every child’s education to include hands-on learning about the miraculous life support system beneath their feet and the farms that produce our food.

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child hands touching, holding organic ground outdoors in sunny daylight for precious life

Plant Your Pants is a fun and visual way to show how healthy soil will help break down a pair of pants. As you know, the healthier the soil, the less that is left when you did the pants up!

Country Trust wants as many people as possible to get involved, planting pants in their own gardens or any outdoor space. https://www.countrytrust.org.uk/plantyourpants

Country Trust is a charity that takes disadvantaged children on farm visits to learn at first hand how food is grown. It is calling for more education about the soil in schools.

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Tony Flanagan

Tony Flanagan is Kitchen Garden’s staff writer. He has been an enthusiastic grower of fruit and veg for many years. His favourite things to grow are peppers (sweet and chllli), tomatoes, herbs and beans. When he is not gardening or not writing about gardening, he is an avid Wolverhampton Wanderers fan. 07587038039 | [email protected]