The school garden is one of the projects of the SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS program which aims to contribute to sustainability in the educational field and to recognize schools as agents of change in the city.
The garden, together with the management of waste (paper and cardboard, plastic packaging and organic waste) has the will to make changes - beyond specific actions or thematic weeks - with the horizon of adopting a comprehensive approach of center for transform the educational institution and face the challenges of the sustainability i the climate emergency.
The school garden project arose from the evidence that the garden activity has a pedagogical content very important to bring the students closer to the contact and observation of nature. In our case, this importance becomes more evident, since often, our students do not acquire these experiences spontaneously at an early age. The current project has different aspects:
- On one side is everything that refers to planting and making the school greener.
- For another, everything we do around waste reduction and composting.
- And finally networking.
Inside the section LET'S PLANT AND MAKE THE SCHOOL GREENER we work the garden currently, we do it in five cultivation tables and in several containers all located in the school's small yard. Nine groups/classrooms participate in this activity: two kindergarten groups, three primary and four secondary groups. This activity is carried out by the teacher together with other professionals in the group. Two plantings are made throughout the course: one in the fall with vegetables and winter vegetables (chards, cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli and lettuce) and another in the spring, with vegetables and vegetables typical of this season (peppers, tomatoes, lettuce).
The big advantage that grow tables and container gardens have over in-ground gardens is that thelumnes can participate more actively because they can access it sitting in their wheelchair without having to get down on the ground. In addition, you can work with the containers both inside the classroom and outside. Both tables and containers plant in the same way, with seedlings and seeds.
Getting the containers is very easy, in our case, we used plastic fruit boxes. Both containers and tables should be lined with anti-root cloth and filled with a mixture of coir, soil and compost.
How we work this activity
- The first thing we do is prepare the land, remove weeds, pour compost and aerate the land.
- Among the whole group-class after seeing different plants, we choose what we will plant.
- Finally, the most motivating moment of planting has arrived. At this moment, the whole group of students and professionals participates.
- And then there is the work of maintaining, watering the garden and watching the growth of what we have planted.
- At the same time, we make identification posters for the different vegetables, look for information on how to take care of them and make scarecrows so that the seagulls don't eat the harvest.
- And finally we do the harvest where the whole group-class participates at the same time.
With the work of the garden at school we aim to enhance contact with the earth and plants, and enable activities that can be carried out inside and outside the classroom. Enable a direct and experiential learning framework, and awaken the student's interest in the natural space. This activity helps us reinforce instrumental learning by applying it to reality. On the other hand, the garden activity enhances team work while influencing the autonomy of each student. It promotes socialization and group cohesion.
The garden is a cooperative activity, since all the students participate to the extent of their possibilities, and it is thanks to the participation of all that it is possible: those who can plant and take care of it, others water, and others do another activity sensory as it can be to touch and smell the different plants.
In addition, school gardens as a form of learning encourage interest in discovering aspects of the environment impacting on the Sustainable Development Goals 4 on Quality Education. At the same time, we work onSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13 on Action for the climate, using the spaces for the creation of school gardens as a tool for environmental education based on respect for nature. In this way, awareness is also raised about the objectives of sustainable development Agenda 2030.
From the Fundació Aspace Catalunya has as its central objective to promote a comprehensive transformation of the educational institution through the implementation of sustainable and ecological projects. The institution is committed to creating a more sustainable future and to the comprehensive education of our students, using the garden as one of the main tools to achieve this. Our comprehensive approach and our vocation for collaboration reflect this our determination to meet the challenges of sustainability and the climate emergency successfully.
