Healthy Harold taps into the power of plants

Did you know just three indoor plants in a classroom could boost your maths and spelling performance?

Research by the University of Technology Sydney found classroom plants could boos maths scores by to 14 per cent and spelling scores by up to 12 per cent.

But indoor plants aren’t just good for grades. They can also help improve air quality and reduce negative moods.

There are lots of hardy and low maintenance indoor plants that make ideal classroom green “helpers”, including peace lilies, philodendron and devil’s ivy.

School gardens are another great way to connect with the benefits of nature, and encourage healthy eating and physical activity.

Healthy Harold and his friends at Life Ed and Yates are encouraging schools, preschools and community groups to apply for one of 10 garden grants, worth $1000 each.

This year one lucky school or community group has the opportunity to DOUBLE their grant and receive $2000 for their garden.

Applications are open until Friday, July 15. Find out more lifeed.org.au/growing-good-gardens-grant

Find the Growing Good Gardens Grant 2022 form HERE.

In the meantime, here are Healthy Harold’s tips for having some fun with growing plants at school:

Turn growing plants in the classroom into a mini science experiment by counting the number of new leaves that grow throughout the month or measuring how tall or long the stems grow over a number of weeks.

Put stick on eyes, noses or mouths on your classroom plants and give them a name, so they become class characters.

Create a craft activity and decorate colourful pots for your indoor plant collection.

Try some water plant propagation. Fill a collection of clear glass jars with water. Place pieces of philodendron or devil’s ivy stems in the water. Ensure the stem includes at least two nodes. Nodes are bumps on the stem that can produce new roots and leaves. Now watch for root growth.

Start a garden at your school. There are so many different types of gardens, including bee and butterfly gardens, bush tucker gardens – and even a pizza garden!

DOWNLOAD SOME GREAT GARDEN IDEAS

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