Green fingers for Miss Earth SA contestant
On Friday May 29, after two weeks of Jessica Janse Van Rensburg, a Miss Earth SA contestant, liaising between Thaba Eco Hotel, Positive Cycle and Mulbarton Primary school, a vegetable garden was planted at Mulbarton Primary School.
MULBARTON – Taryn Porteous and Malcolm Vermeulen from Thaba Eco Hotel agreed to sponsor all the costs and put Jessica in touch with Positive Cycle. “I am extremely grateful for the support that Thaba Eco Hotel has given me for this initiative. Initially, Malcolm and I met at Mulbarton Primary to decide what the best option for planting a vegetable garden would be. We decided that instead of digging up ground and being invasive, to rather preserve the area and use the existing concrete retaining blocks to plant the vegetables.
“On Thursday afternoon, May 28 I spent the afternoon at Mulbarton Primary with Positive Cycle preparing the soil and when Friday came, I was excited to meet with the staff and children at the school to get the project underway. I am grateful the school let me use their grounds and children to educate and plant this garden. I started off by explaining to the children why the various elements of the soil were important for vegetable growth and each child then had the chance to plant their very own seed or seedling. Each child then dipped their hands in paint and placed their mark on their blocks to show their commitment of ensuring the growth and sustainability of their new vegetable garden,” said Jessica.
Parsley, carrots, peas, broad beans, edible flowers and red cabbage were planted into the 75 retaining blocks, resulting in approximately 600 nutritious edibles being planted.
“It was a very successful afternoon with about 30 children helping, who pledged to look after and maintain the garden. A huge thank you to Mr Mtshali and Mr Kistadoo of Mulbarton Primary School for supporting the initiative,” added Jessica.
