A s I am whisked away to the vegetable patch behind HLC International School in Karanai on a sunny morning, I am surprised to see students stomp around in a mixture of sand and clay. What is more surprising is that they’re joined by their math teacher with equal enthusiasm. But wait. This isn’t just a stomp-around-in-the-mud session; it’s in fact, a lesson in balance and proportion. A little distance away, students carefully examine paddy under the watchful eye of their science teacher. They’re learning about crop cycles, living soil and the different varieties of paddy.
In another section of the patch, some students harvest fresh fenugreek along with the gardener. For students of the school, working with the soil, sowing seeds, irrigating crops and harvesting them is a daily affair. The exercise helps them learn about everything in the curriculum — from math and sociology to science and geography. The school, like three others in the city, has tied up with Alladi Mahadevan of Grow Your Own Veggies to do just that — grow food, with students involved in every step of the way.
As a wave of sustainable living and environmental consciousness sweeps through the city, schools aren’t far behind as they encourage students to get in touch with their roots.
Says Mahadevan, “We believe that the key to our future is to teach children to live sustainably. Putting this belief in action, we tie up with communities and schools for hands-on learning sessions on how to foster this. So far, four schools in Chennai have tied up to work towards the cause — HLC International, Ramana Vidyalaya, Tattva School and Learning Tree.”
Students at HLC International, for instance, have grown 25 varieties of paddy, 26 types of millets, nine greens, 60 herbs, oilseeds, beans, gourds, root vegetables, tomatoes, chillies and fruits — all from native seeds.
According to S. Balasubramanian, director of Tattva School, the idea to introduce students to the concept of growing their own food stemmed from the fact that they wanted their science curriculum “to be action-oriented rather than just superficial learning”. He adds, “The food segment is something children identify with easily, and watching their food grow gives them a better understanding of the curriculum. In fact, our campus was rather barren, but last year, we tied up with Mahadevan and turned it into a food-growing hub. Today, we grow several varieties of fruits and food crops. Most of them are local, hardy varieties such as guava, sapota, mango and jackfruit.”
For HLC International, the tryst with growing food started after a trip to Berlin for a global conference, where the role of educational institutions in global sustainability was discussed, says Naveen Mahesh, director. “This is our attempt to help students and society recognise that we have to start now; it’s also a way for students to learn through this activity. To this end, we are hosting an exhibition on January 20 and 21 titled Sashvatham. The goal is to inspire families to change their lifestyle in some small way — segregate waste or grow their own food.”
Students at these schools also take part in composting and treating soil to turn it into living soil. “In fact, according to locals, this soil was unfit to grow anything. But, I believe soil always has life and it depends on how you treat it,” says Mahadevan, pointing to the sun ray formation of farming the schools have adopted. In this method, the compost pit forms the sun with rays of plants radiating outwards. The plants that grow the fastest are closest to the centre, while the hardier ones that take more time to grow are towards the outer edges.
Notably, the understanding the children have of their eco-system is astounding. Vishnu Menon, Magiran Natarajan and Dharini Hariharan, students of HLC, confidently walk me through the process of composting and tell me that the dry leaves and twigs that go into their pit are sourced from housing communities in the area.
They even invite me to join them in jumping on the dry leaves. “It’s a great way to pack in the material and aid composting. Plus, it’s our very own organic trampoline,” smiles Menon.
Since the schools practise organic farming and gardening, chemicals are a big no-no. But the students know exactly how to keep pests away. “It’s very simple actually,” says Abhay Swarna Vikram, a Class V student. “We just use Triple G (ginger, garlic and green chillies) or neem oil to ward off pests.”
On their part, the schools ensure that students across all age groups get an opportunity to be involved in the project. “We divide them into groups and assign a day and duty for them. Since the students can’t do laborious work such as tilling the land, our gardening staff helps them. The enthusiasm amongst the children is very encouraging. Although a lot of our crop was destroyed after Vardah, and we had to start from scratch, the students are hopeful. It’s a lesson in patience and perseverance,” smiles Balasubramanian.
