Teaching South Africa a lesson in tackling food insecurity are schools around the country that have cultivated and nurtured their own school food gardens that teach the children incredible skills and nurture a love for the environment:
South Africa (02 November 2023) — World Food Month has come and gone; leaving behind the overarching feeling that there is a lot of effort necessary to make sustainable approaches to food supply accessible. But, teaching South Africa a lesson in tackling food insecurity are several local places of learning, as school food gardens show South Africa that even the most limited resources can create fruitful results.
In late October, Non-Profit Social Enterprise, Food & Trees for Africa, celebrated the winners of the EduPlant Finals—a competition that celebrates schools that have committed to permaculture food gardening for food security and environmental education.
The school food gardens working with environmental literacy efforts—like the EduPlant Programme, which has developed thousands of school food gardens over the years—are both essential to cultivating a mindset that’s precious to the environment and practically useful for the learners.
From planting to studying the environment and its challenges, the learners are not only taught the value of sustainable food resources in theory but also how to use their newly learned green thumb skills to help themselves and their own communities in real life.
This year, 36 finalist schools from every province got to showcase their gardens. They submitted a video documentary as well as a Portfolio of Evidence to stand a chance of winning a big prize intended to support future food-growing efforts.
Meet the School Food Garden Winners
After tough evaluation, the national winners of this year’s competition are:
- First Place Nationally: Mfesane Secondary School (Eastern Cape)
- Second Place Nationally: Mookgopong Primary School (Limpopo)
- Third Place Nationally: Mbhureni Primary School (Limpopo)
The Provincial winners are:
- Eastern Cape: Elufefeni Primary School
- Limpopo: Grace and Hope Special School
- KwaZulu-Natal: Sinathing Junior Primary School
- Western Cape: Dennegeur Avenue Primary School
- Gauteng: Masizani Primary School
- North West: Rekgonne Bapo Special School
- Northern Cape Winner: Ditshipeng Intermediate School
- Free State: Lerato Primary School
- Mpumalanga: Sifundzekhaya Primary School
- Fan Favourite: Ledingwe Primary School (Limpopo)
“Each of these schools has demonstrated exceptional dedication to the principles of permaculture and sustainability,” share Food & Trees for Africa.
“Their permaculture food gardens serve as living classrooms, nurturing not only plants but also the minds and hearts of the learners involved.”
Adds Robyn Hills, Head of Programmes at Food & Trees for Africa:
“School food gardens are one of the best ways to supplement meals for learners. The additional nutrition from fresh herbs and vegetables significantly improves a student’s ability to concentrate and perform better.”
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