‘Grow your own’: School sustainability projects as a space for children’s agency to surface outside the classroom environment

This paper considers how Year 2 children in the UK (aged 6–7) made meaning of planting, growing and eating fruit and vegetables through sustainable food practices, in a small-scale study. Using focus groups, thematic analysis revealed key insights into children’s understanding of ‘growing your own’ and subsequent consumption of this produce. It argues children, when offered hands-on experiences, develop competencies and understanding beyond age-related expectations enshrined both in child development models and the school curriculum which build skills and knowledge year on year. Findings highlighted child participants’ advanced social competence and vocabulary and demonstrated how hands-on learning enhanced their ability to understand self-led sustainable planting and consumption. This out-of-the classroom study allows us to see the arenas of children’s agency. That is, while young children may understand about healthy eating and the role of growing their own, acting upon this can be limited by the choices the adults who care for them make. In school: expecting ‘seat work’ (formal learning, at a desk), offers less hands-on experience than may be possible outdoors; at home, agency around food can be limited by the extent to which children are involved in food production, choice or cooking.