Ipoh primary school’s gardening lessons yield bountiful harvest

A collaboration between parents, teachers, students and a school gardener to repurpose the school's open space has resulted in a bountiful harvest for SK Methodist (ACS) in Ipoh.

Named the "Happy Garden", this 200-square-foot garden has produced a variety of vegetables such as green beans and cucumbers.

The initiative is the brainchild of teacher Wan Ahmad Shaffin Wan Ahmad Nasri and Joanne Lum, who presented the proposal to the school's Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) earlier this year.

Lum said the idea came about in a conversation she had with Wan Ahmad, who was her son’s teacher.

“Both of us were excited to know that we shared the same passion for gardening. So I decided to suggest the idea (to start a school edible garden) during the PTA's annual meeting,” she said. 

Lum said the Happy Garden provides students the opportunity to gain practical lessons about herbs and plants, their medicinal uses and how they can be cooked.

The garden is used to familiarise students with nature while creating an environment that assists learning, she said.

This activity does not affect class time, thanks to the school gardener who also helps to tend to the garden.

Students also come to school on weekends for activities related to the Happy Garden.

Wan Ahmad said growing an edible garden has helped teach the students the importance of nature.

"Most students don't know the names of different types of plants and vegetables, so it is good to teach them to appreciate plants as a major food source," he said.

Happy Garden is now filled with various plants such as papaya, mulberry, green beans, curry leaves, onions, cherries, lime, pineapple, pandan leaves and more.

The garden’s first harvest was small and shared with the gardeners and sold to teachers and parents.

"We sold two varieties of onions to get extra money to buy seeds and onions," Lum said.

After several attempts, and trying organic fertilisers with financial support from the school, the harvest became bountiful.

Happy Garden also thrives with the help of another parent, Doraisingam Muniandy, a former engineer who is passionate about gardening.

He supported the project by building a garden structure, proposing the use of different types of fertilisers and gardening techniques to obtain promising results.

With the bountiful harvest, the school is now considering setting up a booth so students can sell the produce to parents before or after school.

This way, students can gain financial literacy and the funds can be channelled back to the school, Lum said.

Parents need to enrich the environment and expand the children's experience, so they can learn even outside the classroom, she said.

"From home, we need to enrich them with art, culture, work and introduce various events and what it means to live in a society before they are exposed to the real world," Lum added. - Mkini