Scouts join rocketman's seed test;is it life Tim but not as we know it?

Beavers and Cubs from the 17th Hastings Robsack Wood Scout Group got their hands dirty by planting special space seeds for a experiment with the European Space Agency. SUS-160405-112003001

The youngsters have joined school children across the country taking part in the ‘Rocket Science’ event, which came to fruition when British Astronaut Tim Peake rocketed into space to join the Space station last year.

Former British Army Air Corps officer and Test Pilot Tim took 2KG of seeds with him on his space mission. The seeds have since returned to Earth and selected groups of people around the UK have been chosen to plant them and monitor the results.

Cub Leader Angela Johnson, says the 17th Hastings Robsack Wood Beavers and Cubs were lucky enough to be among those chosen to participate in the experiment. ““What a great idea to get the children engaged in growing and space,” she said. “They planted the space seeds alongside some normal seeds, which will be grown for six weeks to see if being in space affects how they sprout.”

With a total of 200 seeds to plant there was plenty to go round and Angela says the Beavers enjoyed planting the seeds and can’t wait to find out which seeds have been in space: “The Beavers and Cubs were very excited to sow the seeds,” she said.

“The group will monitor the seeds and report their findings to the ESA.

Gareth Walker joint Beaver Leader with Kim Brunt of the 17th Hastings Robsack Wood colony added: “This is a great chance to be part of a cutting-edge experiment.”