Fresh from the crop

Our young Year 7 technologists ventured out on a visit to local berry grower, the Summer Berry Company, where they received a very warm welcome to their glasshouses. There they learnt all about the science and techniques behind growing and harvesting fresh berries and what happens to surplus crop to minimise food waste. In groups, they had great fun tasting and grading berries to determine the differences between varieties and how different methods of production can affect flavour too. Fittingly, in a blind trial, the Summer Berry-grown berries came out on top of the popularity stakes!

Excitingly, the pupils were lucky enough to see the innovative robotic picking trials taking place and meet some of the robots up close and personal. They then turned their hands to manually picking their very own strawberries to sample and learn about the importance of the bees in ensuring successful pollination and germination of the berries.

All of the staff from the Summer Berry Company, who supported the visit, were exceptionally knowledgeable, enthusiastic and patient with our buzzing and berry-fuelled pupils. The children had a thoroughly enjoyable time, topped off at the end by a very tasty fruit treat. This was supplied by a local manufacturer that rescues residual fruit and creates a snack range called Squished. The visit provided lots of food for thought, with one pupil already expressing interest in getting involved with the growing sector!

"We couldn't even see to the other end of the glasshouse. It was huge."

Pupil, Year 7