MY SOCIAL ACTION PROJECT

Task 1.4: MY SOCIAL ACTION PROJECT

•        Reflect on the experience of service-learning. Use the following points to guide your

The social action project I decided to take up is the green team project of a Spring Vegetable Garden and Recycling project, We got to educate learnes of enviromental  awareness and also have them participate in making a sustainable vegetable  garden for the school.

•        Consider the effectiveness of the project, considering each component and reflecting on your learning experience as well as the impact on the school or community. 

•        This initiative was a means to educate more on the benefits of harvesting your own garden, this would also be encouraging learners to even consider one for themselves at home. Self-sufficient running gardens would make produce that is untouched and do not cause the same harsh environmental impacts done by importation of foreign crops. Seeing a vegetable garden at school is a great means of learning how vegetables grow and the lengths to which a garden needs to be maintained. Once established learners would be able to pass though and visit the garden for that purpose too.

•        With vegetables grown in the school it would be a great feat to use those vegetables in a manner that that provides to the exterior community. So, growing the vegetables and donating them to established soup kitchens or even providing the neighbouring community streams like the Villla Sunfield Old age home next door with vegetables from the garden would not only serve others with fresh produce for use but also foster good relations through giving back to others.

•        Another aid added to this would be the compost bin that will be used for the garden. Which learners would find located near their recycling bins as well. This is where you can put discarded apple cores, orange and banana peels and other vegetable food waste that would be mixed with other ground material like twigs, leaves, and grass.

•        Compost is a vital part of growing something like a vegetable garden, as it assists in making healthier and enriched soil where the vegetables could grow without needing to rely on pesticide and chemical fertilizers. Posters were put up around the school informing  learners once more on how to use the recycling bins properly as well as the compost bin.

•        How has service-learning changed you personally?

I feel that I have learnt more about the value of sustanability and subsistance farming that had lead me to be able to educate learners on those topics, have them make one for their school and see the value it will bring to outside communities.

•        How has service-learning developed you professionally? What new knowledge, skills and/or attitudes have you gained?

Besides the essense of establishing a good realtionship with learners as a good majority of this project was relaiant on them (them bringing the seeds and planting them). I learnt how to make compost, which is soemthign great as I also got to educate the learners on how to do it before they contribute to it as well. I feel that what I have learnt is the importance of school community and serving the external community as well. The learners where able to gain perpective that what they are making is going to be a sustainbale means on living providied to their external community. That the fruits of their laboiur will provide something to people less fortunate than they are (that the seeds they palneted will soon fully rwo into vegetables that can be handed over and donated to their naighbouring old age home and soup kitchens of their choice).

•        Describe the benefit of this initiative to the school and comment on its sustainability.

-            Forunatly the green club will esure that this project stays maintained. The school is set to adopt volunteering grade 7 learners into the environmental club as well to continue on the initiatives set in this year. Learners of the club will be set to encourage litter pickups after break time, with the proper waste being thrown into the proper recycling bin (With Grade 7 learners standing at the post of these bins during litter pick-up to ensure that they younger grades are putting recycling into the right bins). 

-            The garden will be maintained by the learners of this club (assigned members for watering in the week) and have assistance form ground staff as well in this.

-            The school maintains a set of leaders amongst the Grade 7s. With this a new position will be set in place – Environmental leader: this role will be one that ensures all the duties of the green club are met by the learners who are members of the club.

-            The hope is to also have the garden maintained enough to supply/donate to the outside community like the Villa Sunfield Old age home next door to the school with the produce form the schools’ garden. Not only is this a good and charitable deed, but it also helps the school maintain good relationships with the external community as well.

-            Learners from younger grades would also be able to see the garden themselves as well.