Schools along the route of the Grand Départ of the Tour de France are being urged to create show-stopping floral displays to wow crowds from across the globe when they visit our region at the start of July.
Schools along stage one and two of the Tour de France 2014 can play their part in the biggest annual sporting event in the world by Turning Yorkshire Yellow.
World leading agribusiness, Syngenta, working in conjunction with Welcome to Yorkshire, the tourism agency which led the successful bid to bring the Tour de France to Yorkshire, and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), generously gifted seeds and know-how to local schools to help children across the region celebrate the arrival of the Grand Départ this summer.
Around 240 Yorkshire schools lining the early stages of the race have each been given 500 seeds of Antirrhinum majus Arrow Yellow, a yellow flowering snapdragon, and asked to use their surroundings and the best of Yorkshire as inspiration.
The school with the most creative design will be given 6 tickets to the Team Presentation, a chance to see the big names competing in the race on stage at the first direct arena, Leeds, on July 3, as well as the chance to win up to £500 in gardening vouchers.
Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: The Grand Départ provides Yorkshire with a once-in-a life time opportunity to showcase what the county has to offer and highlight the pride we have in our schools. We understand the benefits of attractive places and what better way to pass this knowledge onto the next generation with the help of the Syngenta. If the children want to create a purple polka dot display, it’s entirely up to them. Their only limit is their imagination.
Carl Sykes, Community Relations Manager from Syngenta in Huddersfield, said: Syngenta is a world leader in seeds and crop protection and we are very proud to support the Grand Départ in Yorkshire through the beauty of plants. We are committed to bringing plant potential to life and through our Company’s Good Growth Plan, we want to play our part in growing the plants we need for food, feed and fuel. With these Syngenta seeds, we can help children across the region learn about the importance of sowing and growing plants, and showcase the natural beauty within our region when the eyes of the world turn to Yorkshire this July.
Libby Goodacre, RHS Regional Development Manager, said: We’re absolutely delighted to be supporting school children in Yorkshire on this fantastic planting project. We hope it will spark an interest in gardening for the pupils and inspire them to continue growing plants outside of school hours. It’s so important that pupils engage with the environment in this way at an early an age as possible.
The Grand Départ of the Tour de France takes place in Yorkshire on the weekend of the 5th and the 6th July. The first stage races from Leeds to Harrogate via the Yorkshire Dales and the second stage race from York to Sheffield via Pennine Yorkshire. More details about the Grand Départ are available online at www.letouryorkshire.com, a third stage takes place on the 7th July racing from Cambridge to London.
