A NEW green initiative is slowly taking root at Bellair Primary School thanks to the Parish of Bellair-All Saints in the Anglican Diocese of KZN.

Spearheaded by church member and green-fingered enthusiast, Pinkie Nkomonde, the school is home to two vegetable gardens.

The first, located at the entrance of the school, is a little over 100m in length and 6m in width, while a second smaller vegetable garden has been started next to the Grade R building.

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Started in 2019, the garden has given learners a chance to take vegetables home, while staff at the school have purchased items and the income is then put back into the veg garden and helps to pay a stipend to three volunteers (Monica Mtikrakra, Victor Dlamini and Agatha Ntombela) who are part of the project.

The garden has produced various vegetables including cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, madumbe and even chillies.

Principal of the school, Theresa Maniram, said the space where the first garden is situated was originally earmarked as overflow parking.

“Prior to the establishment of the garden the space was overgrown and bushy. We had thought of using it for overflow parking but then the church and Pinkie (Nkomonde) approached me and suggested starting a garden.

“The idea was also to donate to children’s homes, old age homes and I felt that just resonated with the culture we want to instil at the school. We are part of the community and this is a way to spread that spirit.

“A lot of hard work has been put into this project and Pinkie and the volunteers have done wonders. The best part of establishing a second garden is that we’ve included some of the teachings into their curriculum.

“The Grade R learners get to see firsthand how a seedling sprouts. The children absolutely love gardening and it has been quite transformative. It has been wonderful to see not only the gardens grow in size but also the children’s enthusiasm,” she said.

Nkomonde explained the impact of the gardening project on the wider community and the youth.

“This project has really taken root since we started in 2019. When we reflect on how far we’ve come and how much we’ve learned it’s incredible. We’ve even created raised beds now and started our own compost heap. The learners get to take food home from a good harvest and some of the items we sell are used to help pay our volunteers and put money into the garden.

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“So many of us consume food without knowing where it was grown or how it got to our fridges or pantries. We’ve lost some of that knowledge and young children are not being exposed to this kind of holistic learning.

“The learners were amazed that their chips were made with potatoes, something we grow in the garden. This kind of learning creates stories and raises the importance of the environment,” she said.

Nkomonde added the biggest challenge now is watering the garden.

“We’ve been through so many hosepipes which we’ve connected to the church across the road. We’ve tried to get JoJo tanks but the problem remains transporting water to them to fill them up. It can be cumbersome. If we don’t use a hose we need to transport water in buckets to the garden which is cumbersome and a challenge. We are hoping for support from someone in the community to help us with a way to get water to the garden,” she said.

If you would like to support the project, contact Pinkie on 072 220 0511.

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