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‘Bring back our school vegetable gardens’ |24 June 2017

Bring back our vegetable school gardens,” echoed delegates at a children’s conference last year, where children coming from all state schools in the country came together to discuss the SAMOA Pathway and Global Sustainable Development Goals.

The conference was organised by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change and the Ministry of Education to mark the annual national Small Island States Day.

This recommendation came about after schools which were participating in a pilot vegetable garden project as part of their Eco-schools programme presented their feedback on the benefits of implementing the project at their schools.

School vegetable gardens was among the 5 top recommendations the participants made at the conference.

Following the success of the pilot project which is mainly funded by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (MEECC) and the Environment Trust Fund, every year two new schools are added to the list of schools participating.

“We wish we could add more schools to the project, as there are more demand from other schools, but the lack of funding is a big challenge, especially as there is a remarkable cut in the budget for the Environment Education Section this year,” said Jeanette Larue, technical adviser for Environment Education in the MEECC, the section which coordinates the garden project.

Every year the Environment Education Section will buy gardening equipment and tools, fruit trees, vegetable seedlings etc which are distributed to the participating schools, with regular visits organised to assist the schools.

“This project is also a follow up of the schools rainwater harvesting in schools, whereby all schools involved are connected to a rainwater harvesting system, and the collected water are used for watering the gardens,” explained Miss Larue, who added that the interests and benefits of the project have surpassed their expectation continued Miss Larue.

The aim of the project is to deliver on government priorities around sustainable agriculture and finding new ways to make this policy work in every area of the school.

The project is also trying to send a message to decision makers of bringing back vegetable gardens in schools.

Other objectives of the project are to: get students involved in the implementation of global and national sustainable development goals at school level; get students, regardless of their academic ability, to be actively involved in the Eco-schools programme; inspire students to develop agricultural and horticultural interest and skills at a very young age; develop positive behavioural attitudes and interest in school life in students who have difficulty in engaging in classroom-based activities; and build self-confidence and responsibility needed for good citizenship.

On a global level, the project is contributing towards the implementation of the ambitious goals and commitment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Education 2030 Agenda. Education plays a vital role in achieving the SDGs, and goal 4 is dedicated to education, which states: “ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. 

This project is also implementing SDG 2, which is Zero Hunger, with the aim of ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. It will be contributing towards the achievement of Unesco’s Education for Sustainable Development Goals.

The project helped students involved to evaluate and implement the actions mentioned above to combat hunger and promote sustainable agriculture.

It is also aimed at developing in students at a very young age, the interest in agriculture, and understand their role as an active citizen in the challenge of combating hunger and reducing poverty.

An organic garden creates a wealth of opportunities for the school and the community. Students and teachers get to learn different sustainable approaches that they can adopt at home. Revenue generated from the sale of the crops are used for other sustainability projects at the school. In some schools, especially the small ones, fruits collected are shared among the students. Money collected are also used to buy seeds and other materials to sustain the school garden.

Feedback received from school participating in the project have been very positive and have inspired and encouraged other schools to join in. Teachers involved have reported that students who have difficulty in engaging in most classrooms-based activities often excel in growing and developing agricultural and horticultural skills. They have also observed that it has helped in reducing disruptive behaviour and timeouts, increase self-confidence, respect for school properties, and improve attendance and punctuality, and even their participation in other school activities. They have contributed towards the Eco-Schools Award, and participants of project have even been selected by their respective schools to participate in the Aldabra trip. In most schools involved, students of Primary 6, who cannot concentrate a lot in class or who has behavioural problems, are involved in the project. In some cases, teachers have also noticed a remarkable behaviour change in these students, with increased motivation to come to school, pride, and development of ownership to the school and a sense of achievement.

The project provides hands-on learning experiences which are vitally important and can contribute to greater success in the classroom. Team building and responsibility is another fundamental rule of school garden. If you do not water your garden, your plants will die. If you do not weed the garden, the weeds get worse and you have to work harder later to get the job done. Children learn how to be responsible by taking care of something. Gardens also provide a wealth of opportunities for teamwork. Students need to work together to prepare the soil, plant the seeds, water the plants and stay on top of the weeding. These opportunities develop a sense of responsibility and can build students’ self-esteem, and watching their garden grow can be the sign of their success. Harvesting their vegetables and fruits from their garden can also help motivate them to work harder. It also helps the ‘handyman’ to feel more involved in school activities, as most of them are actively involved in the project.

Six state primary schools have been participating in the project: Baie Ste Anne Praslin, Anse Royale, Takamaka, Baie Lazare, Glacis and Perseverance. Baie Lazare and Perseverance are joining the project this year. This year, Anse Royale primary school has introduced rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, quails and ducks as part of the project, which has not only attracted students but also their parents. Children bring to school unused parts of vegetables and other greenery from home to feed their animals. The waste collected will be used for the vegetable gardens. But one challenge is that once the primary six students join secondary schools, they are no longer involved as there are no such gardens at the secondary level. But the good news is that secondary school students who took part in the conference also shared the same interest of extending the project at secondary level.

The Eco-Schools programme has been implemented in schools since 1990s and plays a major role in promoting education for sustainable development. As part of the programme, different projects at school level are implemented which help the country in achieving international sustainable development goals and national sustainable development policies.  Both government and non-government organisations joined forces to assist in the success of the Eco-Schools programme, though more support is missing from private sectors, especially in funding some of the projects. However, Eco-school leaders have also expressed on many occasions that support from school managers and ministry managers are crucial in the success of the programme. The sustainability of the organic garden in schools will depend a lot of the above mentioned partners, from school managers to other government and non-government organisations, parents, private sectors and government leaders. The Environmental Education Coordinator at the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, Shane Emilie, mentioned that the Eco-Schools programme is the only sustainability school programme in Seychelles which adopts whole school approaches to sustainability.

“The Eco-Schools programme brings a lot of benefits to a school and the wider communities, which is crucial in ensuring that children and adults acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development through Education for Sustainable Development and sustainable lifestyles among others,” he said.

“The curriculum does make certain provisions for several ESD themes to be integrated across several subject areas such as Science and Technology Enterprise, but there is a need to review our current curriculum and strengthen their integration,” Mr Emilie added.

He said he is pleased with the micro projects taking place in schools with support from partners and firmly believes that companies can invest more in the schools because they do not have a separate budget to cover expenses for projects.

The accompanying photos show the successful outcome of the school vegetable garden project.

 

M.J.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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