BBC Let It Grow!

Launching today, Let it Grow is a collaboration between BBC Children’s and Education and BBC Radio 2 to help everyone transform grey spaces into wild and colourful places!

Inspired by the new BBC One series Wild Isles, the opening episode of which was the biggest factual episode to air on the BBC in 2023 so far*, Radio 2, CBBC, CBeebies and BBC Teach will be building on the interest generated in nature and inspiring all audiences to get stuck in. Viewers and listeners will be encouraged to re-purpose pots, pans and pallets to get planting and bring brightness to wherever they live.

From today, the family of Radio 2 presenters will also be getting stuck into the action, with special guests who will inspire listeners to find room to bloom no matter how big or small their outside space, gardening tips and tricks and plant-themed playlists. And there’s a brand new podcast on BBC Sounds, Let It Grow with Liza Tarbuck.

BBC Director of BBC Children’s and Education, Patricia Hidalgo says: “Environmental initiatives are essential. Not only are they important for educational purposes, there is great fun to be had too! When it comes to Let it Grow, everyone can get involved. Whatever the space available – from front or back gardens, balconies, window ledges or driveways - there will be advice on how to Let It Grow in all kinds of places and communities. We can’t wait to see children across the country exploring the amazing world of nature around us all.”

Helen Thomas, Head of BBC Radio 2, says: “Following Radio 2 Goes Green in 2022 and our Big Bee Challenge project in 2021, we are continuing our commitment to nature initiatives in 2023 with the launch of Let It Grow. We’re inviting the Radio 2 family of presenters and listeners to connect with nature and find inspiration in any space, large or small. I can’t wait to hear Liza‘s unique take on gardening on our new podcast and hope that Let It Grow will encourage everyone across the UK to get planting.”

Encouraging children to help with the making, digging and planting, Let it Grow will spring to life on Blue Peter on 31 March (5pm, CBBC and BBC iPlayer), supported by Bear Grylls, Steve Backshall, Vick Hope and JB Gill. A new Blue Peter Garden will also open at RHS garden Bridgewater, and there will be a brand new Let it Grow game on the CBBC website.

Children can apply for their very own Blue Peter Green Badge and for a limited time, those receiving a Blue Peter badge will receive a free pack of sunflower seeds. Easy to grow, their flowers will brighten up any space and the birds and the bees love them too! The Green Badge will be awarded to children who show all the wonderful ways they care about nature and the environment, with those who secure a badge joining previous notable recipients such as Sir David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg.

A raft of environmentally focused new CBBC and CBeebies commissions will form part of the Let it Grow initiative. OZT Goes Wild in Britain will air on CBBC in April, following the Whitnall brothers from the popular One Zoo Three programme, as they travel the UK in their electric car, championing conservation projects and meeting wildlife heroes.

Ranger Hamza’s Eco Minis, a miniseries available on CBeebies in May, will demonstrate how a series of small jobs and tasks that everyone can do can make a big difference to the environment we live in.

Steve and Aneeshwar Go Wild will also launch on CBeebies in July. The series follows Steve Backshall and young environmental enthusiast Aneeshwar Kunchala as they take over Knowsley Safari Park to meet animals from all over the world, discovering how we can protect them and how even the most unusual creatures are connected to the wonderful critters we can find on our doorsteps.