Online gardening resources helps parents teach 'Dig for Victory' history to kids over Anzac weekend

April 24, 2020

During lockdown and come ANZAC weekend, Victoria Bernard says there’s renewed interest in gardening and self-sufficiency.

A charity teaching young kids gardening skills is this Anzac weekend drawing links to wartime life as the Covid-19 lockdown renews interest in productive gardens and self-sufficiency.

Garden to Table curriculum manager Victoria Bernard told TVNZ1’s Breakfast this morning they’ve made their Dig for Victory resource available online to help parents teach their kids about history.

“These kinds of wholesome, old-fashioned skills are actually really trendy,” she said.

“Out there when there are shortages, you know what’s in your garden, you know what’s happened to it, you know that it’s got no sprays… you’ve got that control.”

The resources take children through the history of the original Dig for Victory and also includes recipes.

The Government during World War II launched the campaign from the early 1940s in response to growing concerns about food shortages in the country.

People responded by replacing flowers in their back yard with vegetables like cabbage, cauliflowers, beans and potatoes.

“You’ve also got that pride and satisfaction that comes from growing,” Ms Bernard said.

She said gardening also builds resilience - in terms of being self-sufficient and helping with mental health.

Ms Bernard said getting kids into gardening also had the benefit of encouraging them to eat their vegetables. Garden to Table is now in nearly 200 schools around the country.

“When I go into a school, children come and they run up to me [and say] ‘I’ve just planted a seed!’. They are so excited about it,” she said.

“Our children are the experts out in the community now. We’ve got children out all over New Zealand who actually know how to garden - they talk about compost.”

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