While people from all over the world came to West-Friesland at the end of September to see the newest vegetable varieties, a delegation of breeding companies and growers of stock material for the ornamental cultivation sector came together on September 27 and 28 for the Home & Garden Conference of Fleuroselect. During the ninth edition of this conference the question how the sector can maintain a connection to the consumer was central. As consumers of the future, children are key in this. This was reason enough for strawberry plant breeder ABZ Seeds, one of the participants, to venture out into nature for an afternoon and see it with children's eyes.
Everyone in one picture.
Gé Bentvelsen, instigator of the do & experience afternoon of nature club IVN (Institute for Nature Education and Sustainability) in Bovenkarspel explains: "We have been breeding strawberry plants from seed for 25 years and saw that seeing and eating of red strawberries revives beautiful youth memories for many people. The smell and taste experience stimulates the memory. Strawberries have a high emotional value. At the same time it turns out the consumer does not recognize a strawberry plant when it is not carrying the red fruit. A lot can be gained here. Just as for the entire sector, it is important for the consumer to get to know the plant, and make them enthusiastic for using them. In children the seeds should be sown, both literally as figuratively, for everything that grows and flowers. A strawberry plant is the perfect educational object for this."
A proper nature experience requires proper 'tools', so a scoop net was used.
Nature educational club IVN guided the participants.
The theme of the conference was 'Today's youth, tomorrow's future’.
After a visit on September 27 to various companies, such as ABZ Seeds, that is celebrating its 25 year anniversary, the activity ‘Through the eyes of a child’ was on the agenda. Gé: "For this, professionals that stand at the beginning of an entire supply chain, went down on their knees. In the West-Frisian forest IJgenweis they, guided by nature education club IVN West-Friesland, experienced nature as a child. The goal is that everyone could experience how children see nature and how to reach children with your product. What is better for a child to take care of their own strawberry plant with eating your own grown strawberries as a reward. Nothing, right?"
For more information:
ABZ Seeds
www.abz-strawberry.nl
Gé Bentvelsen
ge.bentvelsen@abz-strawberry.nl