Dandelion Schools

School children across Scotland led a major community growing programme – a huge nationwide experiment into how trad growing methods could combine with 21st-century techniques to shape the food production of the future.

Growing Cubes

We gifted more than 100 Dandelion Grow Cubes to schools across Scotland. Each of these small see-through boxes is a miniature indoor farm, equipped with soil, seedlings and LEDs. And we invited students of all ages to take control of their Cubes – varying the light, moisture, humidity and nutrients to see what makes their plants grow and log the results in our Digital App.

Growing Outdoors

We took tonnes of special growing medium to Scottish schools, and asked students to take it home and grow potatoes in it. They grew in pots and pans, window boxes and wheelbarrows – nothing was a no-grow area.

Close up of a hand planting seeds from a packet into garden pots

Tatties

Schoolchildren were also in charge of this summer’s Big Tattie Experiment, our countrywide spud-growing spectacular.

Close up of hand holding a heart shaped tattie / potato

Music and Creativity

Dandelion wasn’t just about getting your hands dirty. We also encouraging you and your pupils to get creative, become citizen fieldworkers, discover Scotland's local food stories, learn new songs and take part in The School is The Menu!

A child smiling in a school setting while wearing large headphone and holding a pencil

Harvest Home

In autumn 2022, pupils came together to share what they’d grown at hundreds of Harvest celebrations in playgrounds across Scotland...

Two children smiling holding vegetables in front of a growing cube containing plants in an urban landscape with brick graffiti walls in the background

The Dandelion Schools Growing Initiative is delivered in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful, a charity providing education initiatives for children, young people and educators that focus on environmental issues. We are grateful to the following people for contributing to, and supporting with, the many elements of this expansive project:

Professor Fiona Burnett, Dr Hannah Rudman and Ruth Vichos from SRUC
Dr Brian Davison and Team, School of Computing, Edinburgh Napier University
Benita Rajania, Anna Lambert and Angel Adjei, Liberty Produce
Kate McLaughlin, WCF Horticulture
Audrey Leonard and Emily Woolnough, Culture Creative
Simon Preston, Food Innovator
Steve Byrne, Dr Mairi McFadyen and Dr Gary West, Dandelion Creative Ethnology Team
Fiona Dalgetty, Fèis Rois
Elaine Lindsay, Wheat Weaver and Craftsperson
Mark Irwin, Education Officer (STEM), Education Scotland
Students from SRUC, Edinburgh Napier University and St Andrew’s University