A Singapore School Teacher Spearheads School Farming
And the school children eat the food they farm within the school!
Clidemy’s T3 (Teach the Teacher) program focusses on guiding & teaching teachers on key aspects of climate action. We are hoping that examples such as these can serve as both inspiration and a starting point for other schools worldwide to do something similar
Singapore’s Commonwealth Secondary School has been a pioneer among schools in indoor urban farming.
And the teacher leading it is Jacob Tan, the school’s biology teacher.
Making schools produce the food the children eat, and making children engage in growing the food, is a great way to get young school children get one with nature. (CliDemy – the Climate Academy has started a similar project in partnership with Akshayakalpa Organic in a Chennai school).
The school’s children get to learn farming and play a part in producing the food they eat. The school currently produces about 100 Kg of greens every year, from spinach to to basil, which is supplied to the school’s canteen. This might not sound like a large quantity, but couldn’t this inspire every child to grow a part of their food at home – and suddenly you are looking at a LARGE quantity!
Tan was one of four recipients of the President’s Award for the Environment in 2023, which is the highest accolade for individuals, educational institutions and organisations that have made significant contributions towards the environment and sustainability in Singapore.
A fitting award! We at Clidemy salute Tan & teachers like him around the world.
Source: The Straits Times – Cheryl Tan
See my LinkedIn post on this topic.
