School Forest Garden Kenya
In partnership with Trees for Cities, the Community Sustainable Development Empowerment Programme (COSDEP) rolled out school gardening and tree planting projects at three primary schools in Kiambu, Kenya. Pupils and staff at Gacharage Primary School, Muchatha Primary School and Karura Kanyungu Academy participated in a variety of activities, from nursery preparation and planting through to natural fertiliser making. Overall, 250 pupils helped to plant 844 trees across the three schools. In addition to this, COSDEP reports that children also learnt about a variety of organic gardening techniques.
The first practical session in the three schools was getting the nurseries established, which involved measuring and establishing nursery beds and sowing seeds. Subsequent activities included preparing the raised beds for when the sowed seeds were ready to be transferred, and composting using organic material to help plants grow. Pupils and staff learnt how to make natural fertilisers to enhance plant growth: bokashi fertiliser, made during the fermentation process, and through vermicomposting, where earthworms convert waste material into compost.
Another important part of the training was in biopesticide preparation and application, to manage pests and diseases and give the plants the best chance at survival. The pupils also engaged in other activities equally important to best-maintaining their nurseries, including watering, weeding, harvesting, mulching and fencing the demo farms.
COSDEP reports that the project has largely been a success, and together we look forward to a long-term partnership for even greater impact.
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trees planted in March 2023 across the three Kenyan schools from a range of species.
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pupils engaged in promoting organic gardening and tree planting in schools.