The leading potato packaging business in Northern Ireland, Wilson's Country, has teamed up with Co Down Elementary School to provide a group of children with a unique opportunity to follow the potato growing process, from planting to the final harvest stage.

The children participating in the project are students at the Loughries Integrated Elementary School in Newtownards and will be in the next grade by the time the project is completed.

The project involves three phases. The first was a presentation by Angus Wilson from Wilson's Country in an audience. This was followed by a visit to a farm run by Newtownards potato grower Derek Erwin.

The visit allowed the children to see the choice of equipment that Derek used to plant and manage his crop. The children also got the opportunity to inspect the seeds that he used that day. And, of course, the children also received a detailed overview of the actual planting process.

“We will deliver the children back to the same field so that they can see the harvest. This should happen during September. As we know, this kind of project has never been carried out in Northern Ireland, ”said Angus Wilson, chairman of the board at Wilson's Country.

According to the chairman of the board, in Northern Ireland, “The gap is growing between the general public and its sense of how the food they eat is actually produced. We hope in our own way to play our part in bridging this gap. We also wanted to make the project as enjoyable as possible for the children involved. ”