Hundreds of Schools in South Africa Planting Organic Gardens

Minister Lauds School Food Gardening Programme
BuaNews (Pretoria)

September 29, 2004

David Masango
Pretoria, South Africa

Education Minister Naledi Pandor has congratulated the Woolworths Trust
EduPlant activities that promote the cultivation of organic food in hundreds
of schools across the country.

She said the initiative improved nutrition and promoted the growing of trees
for improved environments.

EduPlant is a schools' food gardening and greening programme that has helped
thousands of schools over the past nine years by promoting the growing of
organic food.

It has reached 14 500 educators from over 12 000 schools around South Africa
in the past nine years.

It has also introduced environmental education to more than 500 000 learners
and their families and is supported by The Woolworths Trust (primary
funders), TIKKUN, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and LandCare
SA.

"It is most encouraging to note that from a humble start in 1994 as an
annual competition for schools, Eduplant has grown into a fully-fledged
development programme that promotes food gardening and greening at a large
number of schools," Minister Pandor said.

The minister was addressing the Woolworths Trust EduPlant 2004 awards held
at Summit College in Fourways, Johannesburg, yesterday.

Minister Pandor said EduPlant had resulted in a number of important learning
and development opportunities.

"Learners have become familiar with permaculture, an organic system of
farming and gardening that combines people and plants in a way that produces
more energy than it uses.

"In addition, many schools now use their projects to implement active
learning. They grow their own food, harvest, conserve and manage water,
recycle waste, generate income for the school, run outreach projects and
much more," she said.

Awards were presented in three categories, namely, Emerging (new or
planned), Intermediate and Advanced.

The Emerging (new or planned) category is for schools that have recently
implemented a permaculture project at their school, or wish to implement one
in the near future and have never entered the EduPlant competition before.

The Intermediate category is for previous EduPlant finalists who have not
won a prize other than attending the finals event while the Advanced
category is for schools that have implemented and maintained a permaculture
project at their school for a period exceeding 12 months and/or have been a
previous EduPlant winner.

Meanwhile, the minister also announced that 90 schools had been identified
to establish new vegetable gardens in nodal areas this financial year.

In addition, her department, in partnership with the departments of
agriculture and local government, will provide technical support to schools
with vegetable gardens and small stock production units.

This will include the appointment of 12 assistant directors who are
specialists in horticulture and small stock production to assist schools to
become more self-sufficient in the production of school meals.