We have decided to put all hands on deck and really boost the Garden Farm at CICD. We all know the importance of having an organic garden. Some of our students also go to projects where they will work with the locals in farming and tree planting for example, and then having a good garden farm at the College is not just a source of products for our community, it also becomes a classroom and a way of preparing our students for their future at the projects.
The harvest has been incredible: potatoes, carrots, cabbages, onions, tomatoes, cucumber, leek, all kinds of kitchen herbs, fruits and much much more….so now there is so much we do not need to buy, we even have excess to give away or maybe sell.
As a student here you normally spend several hours every week in the garden during the spring and summer, learning by doing. Our garden farm is organic, and we have started up using perma-culture techniques. This has been a “revolution” helping to make our garden as big and as rich at it is now.
Our Climate Activist Teams are the teams who learn the most from our garden farming. They spend many days in the walled garden, learning techniques while developing the garden. All other teams also spend time in the garden “classroom”.
Well, in the beginning they asked why is it so important - and the answer was simple: Health, Happiness, Education, Community, Environment and Future! Nowadays, knowing what we are eating has become priceless. The organic garden is making a difference in our nutrition. Growing vegetables gives us positive feelings of self-sufficiency, being outside, learning about self-sustainability....and knowing that the knowledge we are obtaining can change and improve the life of others makes for double happiness!
Both CICD students and teachers have understood that successful gardening requires a lot of planning, problem solving and creativity. Gardening together brings us together – and seeing something grow from our work has brought our community at CICD even more together.
