Growing the Future
GROWING THE FUTURE IS A PROGRAMME LINKING SCHOOLS AND THE HORTICULTURE INDUSTRY FUNDED BY LEADER + FOR WHICH POLKA DOT ACADEMY ARE KEY FACILITATORS.
Primarily focusing on 10 – 14 year olds “Growing the Future” aims to promote a positive image of the horticulture industry, to challenge young peoples’ perceptions of the value and diversity of the horticulture industry and identify career opportunities to meet the needs of the industry. The project also challenges the perceptions of school staff and parents.
Students undertake a programme of enterprise activities, including business simulations, masterclasses, industry days and challenges.
The three main projects Polka Dot have devised are the ‘Growing the Future’ play which looks at a small florists ‘Plants R us’ as it grows into a successful plant distributor following the growth of their life sized plant ‘Rose’!
The second project is ‘Growing the Future - The Apprentice’ which encourages students to create a marketing plan for a product relevant to an industry visit made on the same day. Through the workshop each group creates a company and divides themselves into specific roles with the ultimate goal of presenting their product, its packaging and marketing strategy to the workshop supermarket bosses. One company wins the contract and one company will be fired!
The third project is the two day film and media course which enables students to create a short film based on a topic relating to horticulture. Students also get the opportunity to learn all aspects of the film industry and get practical experience in the creation of film.