The Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands has distinguished nine schools for the development of ecological gardens in their facilities during the 2020-21 academic year, including two schools and two institutes in Lanzarote.
Specifically, on the island, the CEIP Nieves Toledo and Benito Méndez Tarajano in Arrecife, and the IES Playa Honda and Haría have been recognized. In the case of the latter, it has tied for second place in its category with the IES Luis Cobiella Cuevas of La Palma. As for the rest of the distinguished centers, they are the CEIO La Garita and Villa de Firgas, the IES Simón Pérez and the CEO Mogán, all of them in Gran Canaria.
The initiative is the result of a collaboration agreement between the Ministry, the La Caixa Social Work and the CajaCanarias Foundation for the development of projects that promote environmental culture and sustainability. The amount of the gratification, of 400 or 500 euros, responds to the collaboration or not of Cabildos and/or City Councils in the activity.
According to the bases of the call for this action, the adaptation of the gardens to the environment, the optimization of resources (irrigation systems, soil, fertilizers, etc.), the management of waste and recycling of materials and the informative dissemination actions have been valued, all of which are included in videos of no more than five minutes, with testimony of the work done.
The General Director of Planning, Innovation and Quality, Gregorio Cabrera, has highlighted the importance of this line of projects as an innovative tool for the development of sustainable learning. "These outdoor classrooms favor teamwork, coexistence and the approach to rural culture and the present and future reality of the Canary Islands, without forgetting other learning beyond those of agricultural work," he said.
Promoting contact and respect for nature, promoting and valuing the cultivation of products of kilometer 0 or proximity that involve the development of sustainable and healthy lifestyle habits and the involvement of the educational community as a whole are other purposes of this Environmental Education initiative.
The IES Playa Honda, winner of the first place in its category
From the management of the IES Playa Honda, which has achieved the first place in the contest in the category of Secondary Education centers that have the support of Cabildos or City Councils, they have valued the involvement of students in this project, which in their case has the support of the first institution of the island, through Adelan, and "serves as a multidisciplinary tool to promote teamwork and coexistence." "This pedagogical activity involves the use of a school space to carry out activities of approximation to the environment," explained the director of the center Yolanda Luis-Ravelo.
The coordinator of the school garden, Eva Martín, added that "it is a project that involves students and allows them to see what the cultivation process is like, from planting to the maximum use of natural resources." An initiative that, in addition, "brings students closer to rural culture and self-sufficiency and ecological agriculture as an educational resource, since they represent one of the basic pillars of our future."
The students of 2nd year of the Learning and Performance Improvement Program (PMAR) and the Aula Enclave have participated in the actions carried out in the school garden of the IES Playa Honda. According to the center, the students have carried out the learning-service methodology, since they have received an education based on practice and experience. They have also provided a service with the sale of products and the use of organic waste for livestock feed.
With this initiative, the IES Playa Honda indicates that "it is intended to take advantage of the potential of the ecological school garden and experimentation in nearby environments to work on the competences, as well as to design tasks, learning situations and meaningful experiences for the students." In addition, it also seeks to "favor the acquisition of attitudes and habits aimed at promoting and valuing environmental health, the achievement of a healthy and responsible diet through knowledge of the products we consume, their origin, their culinary possibilities".
