Supporting the creation of organic and sustainable vegetable gardens in schools and communities throughout the Dominican Republic

 

The initiative for the development of school vegetable gardens in education centers in the Dominican Republic, arose from the interest sparked among students participating in talks, panels and workshops conducted by Rose Landa, during the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival. Rose Landa is a member of the Global Coalition for Peace, which, by means of its initiative Make Gardens Not War, seeks to motivate the creation of vegetable gardens all around the world.

Mission: To encourage the development of organic and sustainable gardens in educational centers and communities throughout the Dominican Republic.

Vision: To restore the vital connection between people and living plants and inspire all Dominicans to become responsible stewards of the Earth.

Objectives:

  • Create self-sustaining and productive gardens using organic methods.
  • Support the concepts of Natural Sciences in the school curriculum with experimental activities.
  • Offer students a place for recreation, relaxation and physical activity.
  • Create awareness about the importance of a balanced diet and achieve broader recognition and receptiveness around the consumption of fruits and vegetables.
  • Recycle organic matter through composting to be utilized as organic fertilizer for garden plants.
  • Offer technical workshops to enrich students’ basic knowledge and to ensure the creation of sustainable gardens.

 

GFDD officially launched the School and Community Gardens Program, or Eco-Huertos Program, in 2012. Since its inception, the program has successfully created a total of 26 gardens in 17 education centers (7 private and 10 public schools), 5 community centers and 4 residences in the provinces of Santo Domingo, Santiago, San Cristobal, Baní, Monte Plata and Azua.

The Program also published a practical guide on How to Create a School Garden in September 2012, which serves as a supporting text for the capacity building courses and workshops offered throughout the year.

For more information on the EcoHuertos Program, we invite you to visit our webpage at: www.eco-huertos.org.

Below are some of the curricular topics within the field of natural sciences that can be taught through a practical method employing the vegetable garden as a teaching resource:

Seventh grade

  • Relations of plants with the environment: tropism, hormones
  • Relations among living beings
  • Relations between animals and their environment
  • Ecosystem and its dynamics
  • Energetic flows
  • Natural resources, types and preservation
  • Measures in avoiding contamination
  • Classification- Pure substances and mixtures
  • Periodic table – Physical, chemical and periodic properties of elements

Eighth grade

  • Light as waves
  • Luminous energy
  • Light reflection and refraction
  • Applications
  • Elaboration of food and industrial products

Ninth grade

  • Chemical basis of life – Biogenic elements
  • Cell theory – Types, structure and function
  • Classification of living beings – Taxonomy, taxonomic categories and binomial system

Tenth grade

  • Life processes in plants and animals
  • Organography and functions of life systems in plants and animals
  • Nutrition: autotrophic and heterotrophic
  • Nutrition, circulation, respiration and reproduction
  • Digestion – Life processes in human beings

Since its inception the program has created a total of 26 vegetable gardens across the country in the provinces of Santo Domingo, Santiago, San Cristobal, Baní, Monte Plata, and Azua.

9 Private Schools
Babeque Secondary School
Loyola School
Centro Educativo Los Prados
Rene Descartes School
Calasanz School
Saint George
New Horizons
Escuela Hogar del Niño
Centro Educativo Quisqueya

10 Public Schools:
Fray Ramón Pane School
El Llano Elementary School
Canadá School
Las Barreras Elementary School
Capotillo Education Center
Ave María Polytechnic School
Republic of Paraguay School
Youth in Development School
Quisqueya Education Center
Braulio Paulino Polytechnic School
Unión Panamericana Secondary School
Escuela Básica Concepción Bona

6 Community Centers:
Club Banreservas
Women’s Association of La Nueva Esperanza
Children International’s Community Center in Bayaguana
FUNDZAZURZA
Fe y Vida Abundante Church Center Foundation
Batey 50 (El Seibo)

5 Family gardens:
Figuereo and Yumary Castillo Family
Bernardina Agramonte Family
Matos Vargas Family
Stalin Feliz Beltré Family
Ramón Rodríguez Bueno

Support:

Banco de Reservas
Children International
Fundzazurza
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales
Centro Cultural Perelló
Red Nacional de Apoyo Empresarial a la Protección Ambiental