A healthy environment is very important for children's creativity and concentration in classrooms. We like to participate in projects where plants are placed in classrooms and children are told more about plants. The children are working with plants in a fun way and the teachers are very involved.

The plants chosen for these projects are plants that provide extra air purification such as spathiphyllum, ferns, monsteras and arecas. In this way we contribute to a healthy, happy population by stimulating a green living environment. Because nature is the basis of our existence.

Watering is important to keep the plants healthy in the classrooms. If watering can be integrated in a simple way during class time, the children learn to care for plants. In this way, the classrooms are quickly and easily greened and the climate in the classrooms improves considerably.

Education vs business

Do other things with plants! That was the message that TV presenter Ivo gave to students during a guest lecture at the Clusius College in Alkmaar. Students of the flower & design course learn everything about flowers and plants, making designs and styling flowers and plants.

During this guest lesson, Ivo from the TV program 'the big garden renovation' told us more about the latest trend of the moment: Hydroponics. How you can tell more about it in a flower or plant shop and about the care of plants in water. The students were then allowed to start making their own hydroponics plant!

The students are creative and learn to think and work in a customer-oriented way through marketing and entrepreneurship lessons. These students work in a flower or plant shop or want to start their own business in flowers and plants.

Plants in the classroom

In classrooms, many children sit together, there is not much ventilation and there are often no plants. If you imagine what that does to the air quality, it is not good. This affects the children's learning performance. Plants are important in classrooms. Municipalities and companies regularly place plants at schools to research and substantiate this.

Plants have a positive effect on:
– Improving well-being and health
– Decrease in harmful substances, the plant absorbs these substances and breaks them down in the roots
– Concentration is improved, which improves work and learning performance
– Attenuation of noise in the classroom
– Higher humidity, which means children have less dry eyes
– Effects of education on nature conservation, sustainability and the experience of nature

The experiences gained are shared with other schools and municipalities that want to improve the indoor climate of classrooms through greenery. The professors who conducted the research regularly give lectures to share the knowledge they have acquired.

Plants vs education

Education has an important role in initiating the change necessary for a viable future. During the National Education Exhibition in Utrecht, together with GrowWizzKid, we were able to show how Nature and Technology subjects come to life through various plant cultivations.

GrowWizzKid goes further than a vegetable garden on the schoolyard, it focuses on food skills and helps children find answers for themselves. Professional cultivation techniques are used for this. The children work with a multi-layer cultivation system at school and learn professional cultivation techniques.

The focus is on learning the skills necessary to function healthily and to contribute to the knowledge society. In this way, children learn what healthy food is and how vegetables grow. Children learn about the origin, content of food and the effect of food on their own body.

GrowWizzKid also makes the connection to green houseplants. Children can grow a cutting of the Clusia rosea Princess into a large plant in the GrowWizzKid and then care for it in their own classroom. In short: by working with 21st century skills, future-oriented, investigative and, above all, meaningful, we work together on the challenges of tomorrow.

Clusius college

The Clusius college in Alkmaar regularly gives "green" guest lectures provided by people from the field. We provided an interactive lecture about the cultivation of the Clusia rosea Princess and the strong air purifying capacity of this strong plant.

Our indoor climate is 5 to 10 times more polluted than the outdoor air. More and more is becoming known about how harmful particulate matter actually is. Greening our living environment is therefore very important. Plants in the house can help us process particulate matter very effectively and convert them in their roots into harmless and useful substances.

This masterclass was for students from Clusius College, their internship supervisors and interested parties such as florists. We really enjoyed providing this guest lecture. We also experienced how enterprising and active the Clusius College in Alkmaar is!