For the IKI retail chain, spring means not only a fresh harvest, but also the nurturing of traditions. One of them is the social responsibility project "IKI Sodinčius" organized for the third year in a row on a nationwide scale. The new phase of the project starting on March 1st invites the country's children to continue their friendship with vegetables and fruits and creatively reveal their knowledge about them. As many as 20 kindergartens selected by lottery will be awarded with their own greenhouses and will be able to enjoy their own first harvest already this year.
Educates not with words, but with deeds
As Berta Čaikauskaitė, the communication manager of the IKI shopping network, says, this project is a successful example of social responsibility, the results of which and the year-on-year increasing involvement of children exceed expectations.
"We are glad that this initiative has spread so widely across the country and directly contributes to the education of children. We believe that this is one of the most fun ways to help children become friends with healthy eating, to learn more about the fruit and vegetable pathway, and most importantly, to participate in the whole process themselves. Over two years, more than 12 people have already joined the project. children throughout Lithuania and this number continues to grow, and since the beginning of the project, 40 greenhouses have already been donated to kindergartens. This year, we are also looking forward to the active involvement of kindergarten communities, and we can't wait to reward the most active and creative ones with greenhouses", says B. Čaikauskaitė.
Greenhouses in kindergartens: children are more willing to eat vegetables grown by themselves
The success and benefits of the project for children are also confirmed by representatives of the kindergartens themselves. In the first stage of "IKI Sodinčius" in 2017 Having won a greenhouse for their kindergarten, the children of Vilnius nursery-kindergarten "Gėlynas" have been enjoying new activities for two years, which become especially welcome as spring approaches.
"This project has turned our entire community - children, employees and parents - into real gardeners. Every year we grow, improve, expand our greenhouse, and the most important thing is that these activities involve us in such a fun way without any obligation, but of our own free will. In addition, we notice that children look at vegetables grown by themselves in a completely different way - they develop curiosity and a desire to taste them. Every good thing that has grown brings a lot of joy, so we never once regretted that we decided to participate in the project. The children's eyes shine when they pick it themselves, wash it and taste it right there," says Rasa Žukauskienė, director of "Gėlyno".
The winners of last year's round from Panevėžys are second to her. The nursery-kindergarten "Sigutė" located here is also happy with the greenhouse and is already preparing for the second gardening season.
"Our kindergarten nurtures the nature conservation theme, we talk a lot with children and teach them love for nature, so participating in this project was very natural. Well, after winning, the best emotions poured out. After the greenhouse appeared, it became a great outdoor activity: children are very willing to get involved in its care, and curiously participate in all stages of growing vegetables. We can see that their horizons have expanded significantly - with the appearance of the vegetable garden, the children saw that vegetables are not only red tomatoes, but also carrots, cucumbers, yellow peppers and many other goodies. They certainly eat their own crops with greater appetite and enthusiasm. After all, they watered it so carefully, looked after each plant with love", Lina Zubkienė, deputy director of the kindergarten for education, shares her impressions.
We invite you to look creatively at vegetables and their benefits
The "IKI Sodinčiaus" competition, which has been successfully implemented for two years in a row and has attracted a lot of interest from children, this year again invites children to actively participate and win their own greenhouse for their kindergarten with all the necessary equipment (soil, work tools, seeds and seedlings).
The rules of the competition are simple and everyone can overcome: children have to choose their favorite vegetable and create a poster for it. It must depict not only the chosen vegetable, but also a written sentence about the benefits of that vegetable, why children like it and suggest that everyone eat it as often as possible. 20 greenhouse winners will be chosen by lottery and announced on March 26. You can find more information about the conditions of the competition and the participant's questionnaire here.
