Art Gardening Club: Sixth Formers teach Year 3 the importance of sustainable gardening!

Posted on August 7th, 2023.

By Ranya Khurana and Aarushi Dahiya

Over the last term, a team of Sixth Formers started an Art Gardening Club for students in Year 3, and it was a resounding success. The ECA was led by Armana Singh, Avril Jaldin Sanchez, Jasmine Capaldi and Rhea Somani in Year 12. Each of them wanted to share their knowledge and experience in gardening with the younger students, and the club was met with great enthusiasm by the Year 3s!

Their goal was to introduce gardening to this group of students by teaching them the basics of how to care for plants. The team made it very engaging for the students, with activities such as decorating pots made from recycled materials, colouring, and sessions where they learnt about the growth of plants.

Through these activities, the Year 3s learnt firsthand about the importance of caring for the planet. Looking after plants fostered a sense of environmental responsibility, as did learning about the importance of reusing and recycling. They thoroughly enjoyed gardening, giving them firsthand experience with the natural world and their place in it. In addition to pretty flowers, the children grew tomatoes, peppers and watermelons. Being directly involved with gardening helped them understand how their food is grown, which is a key aspect of climate awareness. The main objective of the club was to teach younger children about the importance of sustainable gardening – a goal that was met with much success! The Year 3s were equipped with gardening skills and discovered actions they could take by themselves to make our community kinder to the planet.

Furthermore, the club helped the children develop some key skills: for example, their collaboration skills, as they realized the importance of teamwork while working together, their creativity, and their gross motor skills as well. The team was also able to teach the Year 3s about some key aspects of responsibility as they had to take charge of the maintenance of the garden.

Overall, the Art Gardening Club has been a great initiative and inspired many Year 3s to take up gardening as a hobby. Not only has it been very beneficial and enjoyable for the younger students, but for the Year 12s as well, as they were able to gain important leadership skills from this experience. The club has been a wonderful initiative that united older and younger students in the care of our environment. The team is very happy with the progress shown by the Year 3s in the care they displayed for their plants; Armana says they “hope that the children can use the skills that they have learned in their future lives”. Art Gardening Club was definitely a unique ECA that made a positive impact in our community!