School gardening project in Atlantis officially opened
14 September 2022
A school gardening project at four Atlantis primary schools was officially opened on Thursday, 8 September 2022.
The gardens at Grovenor, Kerria, Reygersdal and Witsand Primary Schools are the initiative of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).
“This project is the culmination of the efforts of the WCED Directorate: Physical Resource Planning and Property Management, Lukhanyo Urban Farming Network (Pty) Ltd and participating schools in Atlantis, said Jerome Gordon, Chief Education Specialist: Physical Resource Planning. He added that the beauty of the project was that children learn basic gardening skills, and at the same time provide food for the school and community. The goal of the WCED is to roll out the project to eight non-fee schools and one fee-charging school in mainly under-privileged areas, transferring gardening skills to 8 200 learners in the process.
The WCED, as part of its focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, Agriculture and Coding (STEAMAC), planned to expose learners to agriculture and the transfer of skills in the cultivation of vegetables as part of sustainability, subsistence and lifelong learning within their communities in Atlantis and Malmesbury in the Swartland Municipal area.
The project has already produced tangible results. One of the first project participants, Grosvenor Primary School, supplies vegetables to the school as well as the surrounding community.
Gerhard Matthyse of Witsand Primary School said the school will soon operate as a community centre, transferring gardening knowledge and skills to the community at large. The Reygersdal Primary School management team is very pleased that their garden is producing much-needed food for the kitchen. Kerria Primary School is delighted that the project is building human capacity and skills.
