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School Rejuvenation
Horticulture and Environmental Awareness Education
Southern Province, Sri Lanka
Since September, Project Galle 2005 has partnered with Concern Worldwide to conduct environmental awareness programs in schools in the greater Galle District, with the support of and guidance from the Educational Planning Director of the Southern Province.
The PG05 Project Manager has helped coordinate with various government departments, including the Coastal Conservation Department (CCD), the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), the Coconut Development Board, the School of Agriculture at Labuduwa Farm; as well as national and international NGO’s, including the Tree Society of Sri Lanka, Rainforest Rescue International, and Arthachariya. Representatives from these organizations have been speaking in schools to spread awareness of various environmental issues and concerns. Schools have been very receptive to these speakers. The Divisional Forest Department has even agreed to supply free trees to schools and will send speakers on request.
Under the leadership of Garry Sullivan, Australian landscaper and marine conservationist, PG05 has led groups of volunteers to build shade-houses in 22 tsunami-affected schools, from Balapitiya to Ahangama. Once built, Garry held horticulture workshops with teachers and students of the schools’ environmental societies. He demonstrated proper seed-bag preparation, propagation of plants from cuttings, general care and maintenance of plants, and a brief background of their properties and interesting facts. During the workshops, the students put their names on a seed bag so they can track the growth of their plant and feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for this plant. They have responded well and can never fill enough bags!
The school then replanted the shade and fruit trees, vegetable gardens, flowers and other plants throughout the school grounds to help with the re-vegetation of these schools, many of which are still barren since the tsunami. More importantly, through these workshops students learned how to grow their own vegetable gardens at home, which in time can help ensure a more nutritious diet and help save money for their family’s tight budgets. Students have been hardworking, enthusiastic and grateful.
Teachers have similarly been delighted with our work. Many have gone beyond our expectations: have filled the nurseries with their plants, made their own tables and have made beautiful fences around their vegetable gardens. They look beautiful. One school had a large competition for the best recycling poster. There were too many eligible winners, we didn’t have enough prizes!
In November we held planting days at coastal schools. Representatives from the above mentioned NGOs spoke about coastal ecosystems, and the importance of taking care of the coast.
After the speeches, students planted coconut, vatakaya and mudilla trees on the coast. Teachers thanked us for the service this education was for their students. Amazingly, one teacher organized a planting day on her own with students for the anniversary of the Tsunami. We wish we could have been there to witness it.
PG05 held an Environmental Awareness Day on December 7th to bring hundreds of students and teachers together for a day of lectures and tree-planting to promote enthusiasm for environmental awareness in Sri Lanka for present and future generations. The day went smoothly and the students and teachers had a great time sporting the green and yellow visors printed for the occasion.
Lastly, PG05 organized the planting of the Galle Municipal Park. Over three and a half days, 200 students from 15 schools came to plant over 1000 plants. During their refreshments, they drew pictures and wrote essays about the environment. Some students had wonderful things to say. We’ve laminated and hung these drawings around the fence of the Children’s Park. Even as we were hanging them, people stopped to look at them and were interested in the words of the students. We hope people may gain something from the students’ work.
We hope also that the volunteers gain something from their experience and share it with their friends and family at home. Volunteers have told us about the special experiences they shared with these students and how much they have been touched by the students’ excitement and more, their warm smiles and open hearts. On behalf of the ‘Trees in Schools’ program of Project Galle 2005, we would like to thanks all of the volunteers who have donated their time, energy and sweat to this project.
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