Entries open for the Yates Budding Young Gardener 2018 competition.

September 4 2018.

A national search is on for young, green-thumbed New Zealanders.
If you are between five and 15 years and love gardening now is the time to enter the Yates Budding Young Gardener 2018 competition. Just answer a few gardening questions online and upload a video illustrating your passion for all things green. Entries, which close 17 September, can be viewed here.  Regional winners are announced on 26 September, and the public can vote for a grand prize winner from 26 September.

Seven regional winners will each receive a Yates Budding Young Gardener Hamper valued at more than $300. The overall winner will be named Yates ambassador for one year and win a family trip for four to Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Judge and gardening guru Ruud Kleinpaste says getting kids into the garden is the best thing we can do for them and the planet.
“The next generation of New Zealanders is becoming more and more disconnected from nature as digital devices demand more time and “eyeballs”, rather than getting outside and into nature,” he says.

“Yates Budding Young Gardener aims to celebrate a love of gardening and encourage children of all levels to develop their passion further. Whether you’re just starting out, or have been gardening for a few years and know how to sow seeds, rustle up a few radishes and turn lemons into lemonade, we want to hear from you,” said Ruud.

The grand prize is a five-day holiday on Australia’s Gold Coast, including airfares, accommodation and a rental car, plus tickets to the Queensland Gardening Expo (if traveling in July) and a three-day pass to Gold Coast theme parks – Warner Bros, Movie World, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild. The grand prize also includes a day with a Yates horticulturist to learn some skills and tips.
For more details visit the Yates NZ Budding Young Gardener website.