School Edible Gardens

Planting gardens in the minds

 Overview
• Open class learning centre
• Several subjects, such as math, science, art, health and
physical education, and social studies, as well as several
educational goals, including personal and social responsibility
could be imparted.
• School greening and beautification
• Mind gardens
• Hands-on gardening experience
• Skill development
• Catching young minds for future farming
 How we work!
• School awareness camps in first phase
• Resource mapping --- land, resource persons,
finances, plant material
school year.
• Local biomimicked designs
• School supported agriculture (SSA)
• Community suuported agriculture (CSA)
• Boot-strap funding
 Mandate
• School edible gardens under Tandrust Punjab
Mission (TPM)
• To promote department’s activities and
outreach
• School camps are being primarily focused along
with village camps to reap the multiple long
term socio-economic developmental benefits .
• All local government schools from middle to
secondary level including high schools of block
are being mapped out.
• At first level it has been conceived to aware the
students and faculty with ‘importance of
growing chemical free vegetables and fruits’ at
local level in form of kitchen, herbal and
medicinal and progressively school supported
agriculture (SSA) is being promoted to dovetail
with existing mid-day meal schemes.
• Progressively various topics related to
horticulture e.g. plantation of native fruits,
training on mushroom cultivation and social
apiculture, nursery establishment, apiculture,
landscaping etc are being covered.
 Achievements
• This programme is started last year in August 2019.
• >50 schools
• >32 villages
• 2 biomimicked low maintenance keyhole gardens at GSSS Boha
and Rangdial
• GSSS Boha was demonstrated by science student under District
Science Competition under theme of ‘Sustainable Agricultural
Practices’ bagged first price at district level.
• The straw bales are being used as growing spaces and chairs
being straw burning as notorious issue in the state.
• Many teachers are start taking classes under the sky on these
straw chairs.
• More than 500 students being trained to grow oyester
mushrooms.
 Acheivements
• This winter oyster mushroom cultivation training has been also imparted in 10
schools in their science labs. Harvesting of mushroom is being done and cooked at
in the mid-day meals.
• Various students and teachers have started growing vegetables at their homes
after buying vegetable seeds and mushroom seeds from us.
• Our whatsapp group has being shaped as great community platform to share
activities and information among relevant stakeholders.
• Village GMS Sherkkhan wala produced nursery of marigold and poppy flowers to
make the green and beautify the school. They also shared the nursery with children,
villagers and other schools.
• GSSS Gurradi producing the vegetables but they are also have set up nursery to
propagate moringa tree and other trees. They have also conserved rare tree like
Piloo/Van at the school.
• GMS Ram Nagar Bhatal school teacher Naveen kumar also made is children
movement. Children bring seeds and sow their gardens and he is doing wonderful
work.
• Some bureaucrats from other districts are recognizing the programme including
Director Horticulture to promote it in other districts as well.
General benefits and impact of project
• Outreach of department in the block is increasing as students
are discussing our activities with their parents.
• We are capturing and training the young farmers at the school
level for future agriculture.
• Eco centric design thinking and practical learning
• Complementing the exisiting mid-day meal scheme
• Waste management and composting at school level
• Promoting entrepreneurship spirit and skill development at grass
root level
• Strengthening the organic farming movement and
decentralizationof GYOSF
• Team building and social harmony
• School beautification and greening
 Observed benefits to students

Knowledge and skills in gardening, nutrition

and WASH
Awareness about fruits and vegetables
Awareness and care for environment
Understand the importance of agricultural
producers/farmers in the community
Better engagement, practical and experiential
learning
Sense of responsibility
Long-term and potential benefits to
students
Increased vegetable consumption
Skill development for future employment
opportunities
Ability to produce food and contribute to local
and national food and nutrition security
Ability to make healthy eating and lifestyle
choices throughout adulthood
Ability to teach their children on gardening,
nutrition and WASH concepts
 Observed benefits to schools
Increased school capacity to implement school garden program:
Established garden facilities
Trained school staff
Productive use of school land
Enhanced quality of education through hands-on learning
program
Increased interaction with families and at the community level
Increased importance of school in the community as a
resource center for sharing new agricultural technologies, and
nutrition and health messages/ school ranking
Greening of school environment and beautification
 Long-term and potential benefits to
schools
•
Recognition for higher quality of education
in the school district
Increased school enrolment and retention
of students
• Improvement in ranking
• Social capital generation
 Benefits to students’ families
• Families
Observed Benefits
school model could be emulated as home kitchen gardens
More children-parent interaction and bond due to engagement
in
school garden and home garden activities
Increased home vegetable production and consumption (for
families with home gardens)
Long-Term and Potential Benefits
Increased local vegetable production and consumption
Income from selling surplus vegetables in local and distant
markets
Household food and nutrition security, improved nutritional
status
 Benefits at community level
• Community
Observed Benefits
Exchange of new farming technologies
Increase in home gardens and vegetable production near
intervention schools/ local food production
Increased vegetable consumption for the household
Increased vegetable diversity with the introduction of new
vegetables
Long-Term and Potential Benefits
Diversification of agricultural production
Increased local vegetable production
New products and market opportunities
Increased consumption of diversified food products
Improved nutritional status
Observed benefits to government

Coordination and convergence between

various departments and of ministries
Rallying support from multiple government
ministries and department
Enriched school garden program ready to be
used by other schools
Scientific research protocols and results for
school garden program
 Incurring setbacks/problems

• No formal programme and lack of funds

• Lack of trained and high morale staff with
departments
• Lack of regular maintenance of gardens
• No scheme of promoting school edible gardens
• No convergence schemes and spirit
• Lack of awareness about chemical free food
 Proposal for formal state project
• Project could also be covered under organic
farming promotion or TPM
• Department– capacity building to various
departments, plant and seed material, gardening
tool-kit, literature and modules
• Education department/PSCST/NSQF– funds and
resources, school gardening based curricula and
pedagogy
• MANREGA convergence for infrastructure and
maintenance (but it would make programme slow
and cumbersome)
Thank you!