BBC event encourages youngsters to get set grow

Last Sunday was a very busy day for me as I was happily volunteering my time to help out at ‘Get Set Grow’, an event based around the popular CBeebies programme ‘Mr Bloom’s Nursery’.

The event was aimed at children under six and was encouraging youngsters to look after the environment and grow and nurture plants. There was a big turn out and it was refreshing to see lots of different businesses volunteering their time to help.

I was located at the Bike Disco section, an area that taught children about renewable energy by powering lights and music when a bike is peddled.

As a STEMNET ambassador, this was an exciting opportunity for me as I’m passionate about encouraging and inspiring young people in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

My section had lots of visitors and it was really good to see the children learn something while having fun. Some even got quite competitive as they competed to see who could make the lights and music come on faster.

Volunteering is currently high on the agenda since the success of the 70,000 volunteers who helped out at the London Olympics, some coming from as far as Sydney, Australia to help.

And it’s not just the Olympics that is inspiring volunteering. Every year over 20 million people across the UK donate more than 100 million hours to their communities each week. And it’s been estimated that the economic value of this activity is worth in excess of £40 billion to our economy so it was great to be doing my bit.

The event was a huge success as people came in their thousands to try lots of fun activities including making your own plant pot, sowing seeds and seeing the Mr Bloom show. The day was filmed and will be aired in the New Year so watch this space!

I was more than happy to take part and offer my advice and would encourage others to help out when they can. At a time when the economy is feeling a bit sorry for itself, it’s good to see lots of people doing something positive.