According to the Country Trust, 40% of children aged 7 to 17 aren’t aware or don’t think that soil is important for the production of the food they eat.
Yet soil provides 95% of the food consumed in Britain. Not to mention 100% of the cereal grain used by maltsters.
Crisp’s headquarters in North Norfolk lie in the heart of one of the world’s best barley-growing regions. Probably the best. We’re surrounded by fields of light, sandy soil that each year produce thousands of tonnes of Maris Otter and Chevallier – as well as the more mainstream barley varieties.
We reckon it’s pretty important for the children growing up in our rural community to know what the land is producing; what the crops are used for; and what goes on behind our gates (our site is a pretty big feature of the village, after all).
And we are very keen to inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists and engineers. They are our future.
British Science Week provides a great platform to go into schools to inform, educate and inspire.
So, for this year’s British Science Week, we crafted a “Science of Malt” lesson for primary school children in Years 5 (age 9 and 10), and headed off to Stibbard All Saints Primary School, near our Gt Ryburgh HQ.
The session coincided with World Book Day, so we found ourselves teaching Super Mario, Disney Princess, Spiderman, Harry Potter, Hermione, and many an unidentifiable character from story books! Science with even more magic than usual. What more could you ask for?
The session was interactive. Among other activities, the children got to handle raw barley, sprouting barley and a range of different kinds of malt. Our ever-accommodating laboratory team had cunningly hidden numerous pests in samples of barley grain. The students had to sieve the grain and see what came through the mesh. They had to examine the sieved matter under magnifying glasses and when – to their delight – they found an assortment of bugs, they had to identify the species using a wall chart we provided.
They learned about the grain’s endosperm, embryo, husk and bran; about some of the challenges for plant growth and harvesting; what happens when the grain arrives at the maltings; and the science of the malting process.
“They were really interested in the roles of the scientists, engineers, technicians and technologists in our business,” said Laura Biddulph, from Crisp’s Customer Services, who led the session. “And they seemed really captivated by the insights they were getting.
“A huge shout out for all her help to Clare Budgett, the Year 5 teacher who arranged the session with us. And an even bigger shout out to the awesome class members, who were bright, engaged, lively, full of ideas, and a joy to spend time with.
“Here’s hoping that in another 15 years or so, some of them will be members of the equally as bright and lively Crisp team!!”
