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Rocket Science is an educational project launched by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening in partnership with the UK Space Agency.   It is just one project from a programme developed by the UK Space Agency to celebrate British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s Principia mission to the International Space Station  December 15 2016.

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2kg of rocket seeds were flown to the ISS on the 2nd September 2015 and were  returned to earth with Scott Kelly in March 2016.

The 2016 project gave up to 10,000 +schools the chance to take part in a UK-wide science experiment planting seeds which have been to space and back.  Food for thought for young inquisitive minds on how to produce food to sustain human life on another planet.  Who knows what the future holds?

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Tim Peake said before launch  “It’s a huge privilege to the the first British ESA astronaut flying to the International Space Station. During my six-month tour I’ll be conducting a number of experiments and I hope that Rocket Science will inspire the next generation to think scientifically, and to consider careers in science and technology”.

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Registrations for Rocket Science  at the RHS Campaign for School Gardening website rhs.org.uk/schoolgardening

Editors note .This is exciting mega science in action with  Tim Peake the British Astronaut  who had a successful research trip into space .He has a lot of work to do and so will the 10,000 RHS  participating schools with the seed planting when the 2 kg of seeds now returned  to earth  March 2o16

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RHS Rocket Science 

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This very important campaign is a major new project to encourage young people to develop scientific skills, learning to care for plants and being more aware of the environment.

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The RHS will be working with space agency partners and be actively engaged with growing plants and gardening with up to 10,000 schools involved in planting seeds that have been up to space and back.  The idea is to learn how we can attempt to sustain human life in space by producing food.  The  RHS hope this will bring a new and exciting perspective on science and horticulture to thousands of children by establishing outside classrooms where they can learn how to grow fruit and vegetables by working in a team, learning to work and cooperate together.

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Are school children getting disconnected from nature with little knowledge of plants and the natural world in particular?  Have new technologies  and lifestyle changes affected health and happiness?

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There is economically a growing national skills shortage in the Horticulture industry and this will be covered in the Careers section under  Grow Careers from the Chartered Institute of Horticulture. 

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There is much to look forward to in this Education section and we look forward to lots of exiting on-going information on this superb campaign from the RHS School gardening campaign team – how they are going about it and how its progressing!

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For more information visit the website at https://schoolgardening.rhs.org.uk/home

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Editors  note.  This  is an enormously important national approach by the RHS to schools to introduce  planting and growing by our youngsters.  I’m really fascinated by the potential of children growing and monitoring seeds that have been up in to space.  As a recently retired science teacher now  garden writer and very keen gardener this is great stuff and very exciting for us all.

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