Elementary School Garden

Description

This project seeks to create a protected school garden by installing a cement wall around a garden plot and purchasing tools that will be kept in an existing classroom. It also supports repairing the school’s only water source, which is in disrepair, and installing an irrigation system that includes a solar pump, a water basin, and connecting pipes. Shade trees will be planted in the courtyard to provide comfortable outdoor spaces for students during breaks.

The community is contributing the identified land and the existing well, and upon completion will prepare student meals at no cost and offer strengthening training to students and interested community members. The garden’s goals are to increase youth access to nutritious foods for school lunches and to provide hands-on learning that equips students with skills to manage natural resources. Maintenance will be carried out by students, community members, and faculty, with coordination by volunteers from the Parent Teacher Association. A student gardening and environment club, now being launched, will use the garden for daily lessons once it is protected and irrigated.

The produce grown will be prepared into school meals by Parent Teacher Association volunteers, supporting an expansion of the existing lunch program. The completed garden will serve as a demonstration space where students learn agro-ecological techniques and explore the connections among environment, agriculture, and health. Students will be able to share what they learn with their families, and the garden may inspire similar efforts in other schools.