I want to say a big thank you to all of the participating schools who worked hard planting bulbs for the project. Together we planted over 18 thousand bulbs across the UK and from the photos I’ve seen, it looks as though everyone had great fun doing it!
All schools taking part in the project will be collecting weather data from the 3rd of November until the 27th of March. They will be uploading these records regularly to the Amgueddfa Cymru website, along with comments and weather observations. We'll be learning a lot together over the school year!
Resources are available on the website that explore different aspects of the project, including ideas for additional experiments and guides to making short videos for the Bulbcast competition!
It’s Planting Day for 178 schools across the UK today! More than 18,000 bulbs will be planted by over 7,000 primary school scientists as part of this exciting outdoor investigation exploring how a changing climate affects the flowering dates of spring bulbs.
Follow the project and the experiences of our Super Scientists through this blog or on X at @ProfessorPlant.
Project team members are visiting several schools today to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Planting Day, and we look forward to receiving updates and photos from schools across the country.
Competitions and Creative Projects
Schools are invited to share their photos and creative media for our Planting Day Photo Competition. We’ll showcase the winning entries here next month!
We’re also running the Bulbcast Competition, where participating schools create short videos highlighting their favourite parts of the investigation. Resources to support this can be found here.
And for this special anniversary year, we’re thrilled to launch a Name the Daffodil Competition! Participants can suggest names for a brand-new daffodil variety commissioned to mark the 20th year of the investigation. You can see what our daffodil looks like in the attached image and find inspiration and guidance in the resource linked here. We can’t wait to see your entries!
A Special Display at St Fagans
The fantastic Gardening Team at St Fagans National Museum of History have been joining in the celebrations too! They’ve planted a commemorative display and created a beautiful woven planter for the project, which you can see in the attached images.
Get Involved
Feeling inspired? Why not plant some bulbs this October and share your images with us! We’ll also be hosting free planting activities for families at St Fagans National Museum of History and National Museum Cardiff, where visitors can learn about plants and adopt their own baby bulbs. Find out more about how to join these sessions on our website.
Once schools have adopted and planted their bulbs, they will set up outdoor weather stations. From 3 November, they’ll collect daily weather readings every day that they are in school and upload these weekly to the Amgueddfa Cymru website. You can follow their progress here.
We’re so excited to get this year’s project underway and to share the journey with you all.
Here’s to another year of discovery, teamwork, and blooming science!
Climate Cymru’s Great Big Green Week has been running since 7th June, with people across Wales (and the UK!) coming together to help protect our planet. There are fun activities, cool events, and lots of ways for you and your school to get involved.
What is The Great Big Green Week?
The Great Big Green Week is the UK’s biggest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. All sorts of people are making swaps and taking small steps that make a difference to the planet. From planting flowers to picking up litter, every action counts!
Who are Climate Cymru?
Climate Cymru is a movement made up of hundreds of organisations and thousands of people from all across Wales, working together to tackle the climate and nature emergencies. By bringing together voices from every part of Welsh society (schools, businesses, community groups, and more) Climate Cymru makes sure that everyone is heard and that leaders take meaningful action for a greener, fairer future for Wales and the planet.
What is the Spring Bulbs for Schools Investigation?
The Spring Bulbs for Schools Investigation engages thousands of children from across the UK every year in a scientific study around the effects of climate change on the flowering dates of Spring Bulbs. Pupils adopt, care for and study their plants. They take weather readings every day that they are in school between November and March and share their findings to the Amgueddfa Cymru website. Our reports from last year’s investigation can be found here, along with many other educational resources. The bilingual reports from this year will be published in early July.
If you’ve participated in this year’s project by planting and growing spring bulbs, then you’re already a climate champion! If you’re looking for a Great Big Green Week Action that your school could take, applications for schools in Wales are open, and you can apply here! 2025-2026 will be the 20th anniversary year of this fantastic project!
Who are The Edina Trust?
The Edina Trust are partners and funders of Amgueddfa Cymru’s Spring Bulbs for Schools Investigation. They are a charity that helps primary schools with science by offering non-competitive grants for exciting projects like gardening, science resources, and outdoor learning. This year, schools in Denbighshire, Newport, and Torfaen can apply for Edina Trust grants, so if your school is in one of these areas, you’re guaranteed to get funding to help develop your science adventures! Find out more here!
Try the Climate Quiz by Amgueddfa Cymru!
To celebrate The Great Big Green Week, Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales) has created a special Climate Quiz just for you. It’s part of the Spring Bulbs for Schools Investigation, and it’s a fun way to test your knowledge about the climate and how we can all help protect nature.
What's the difference between weather and climate?
How much of the UK's total energy comes from renewable sources?
Why are insects important for the climate?
What actions could you take to help?
Find out by taking the quiz with your classmates or family. You might be surprised at what you learn!
Let’s Be Planet Protectors!
Remember, even small changes can make a big difference. By joining in with The Great Big Green Week and the Climate Quiz, you’re helping to raise awareness of how we can all look after the Earth for animals, plants, and people everywhere.
Share what you’ve learnt:
Tell your teacher about The Great Big Green Week and The Spring Bulbs for Schools Investigation. There are loads of great resources that can be used in class.
Congratulations to all the fantastic schools who contributed to this years investigation. All of the schools listed below have been sent Super Scientist certificates and pencils in recognition of the great work they have done. Schools who entered the most data have been sent additional seeds to plant. The runners up received gift vouchers and the winning schools are to be awarded an extra special prize for their class.
Schools who entered the Bulbcast competition have all been sent a special clapper board, with the winner and runner up receiving equipment to help them with future film projects. A compilation of their fantastic videos can be found at the bottom of this page.
Professor Plant would like to thank all the schools that contributed to making this year’s investigation a success.