There are numerous educational institutions in the city that have massive terrace spaces. If each of these institutions take the effort to create terrace farms/gardens, one can only imagine the number of green spaces that can be created. A school in the city did just this and reaped a rich harvest. Created in 2010, the terrace farm at SBOA Matriculation and Higher Secondary School, Anna Nagar, spans across 15,000 sq.ft., and has a number of herbs, vegetable plants and fruit trees.
Students pitch in with the gardening work, guided by botany teachers B. Vijayasakthi, Priscilla Williams, Shaila Rao and the school gardener Govindarajan. The teachers are assisted by horticulture consultant Dr. D. Padmanabhan. The terrace farm gives the students a hands-on learning experience and they are taught how to prepare the soil, sow seeds, transplant saplings, and water, manure the soil by adopting organic farming techniques. They are actively involved in monitoring plant growth, and harvesting the yield of vegetables, fruit and medicinal herbs.
The terrace farm idea was originally initiated by Thomas Franco Rajendra Dev, the current secretary of SBIOA Education Trust. The school’s present correspondent, A. Ravichandran, is also a mentor for this initiative. The project began with an evaluation of the terrace for its stability and water seepage resistance. A horticulture consultant was roped in and the school began the terrace garden project. Each of its students had to bring one plant to keep on the terrace. “The enthusiastic response by the students encouraged us and the terrace garden expanded into a farm,” says the principal, Reita John. Now you can see a range of farming methodologies in operation here — from the potted plant system to Israeli farming technology.
The botany projects of students now include activities like collecting seeds and their work on the farm is also taken into consideration for the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE). Prizes are awarded to students who fare well in this project. John, says, “Our children enjoy working on the terrace farm. Being among the plants acts as a stress buster for them. Many parents tell us that their children have now started growing vegetables in their balconies and terraces at home.” Not surprisingly, the chief educational officer — Chennai, Tamil Nadu Directorate of School Education, has asked the school to make a presentation on their terrace farming experience which could be used as a roadmap by other schools.
While it took an investment of around Rs. 3 lakh to establish the terrace farm, the school now recovers the running expenditure by selling greens and other vegetables to their own staff and students.
