【Indonesia】Vegetable Planting in Plastic Pots

This activity was carried out after the final examinations in school on April 16th, 2011. Pupils from the 3rd to the 5th grades totaling 88 children joined in this special activity. It started with a healthy walk around the village of Batursari to observe the kinds of vegetables planted around the area. Children were excited going around the village filled with various mountain vegetable farms left and right. They joked and sang while walking along streets of the village.

Although most of their parents are farmers, many children are not acquainted with the method in planting vegetables. This activity was expected to infuse love for the “green world” from something small suh as vegetable planting in pots. Plastic pots were distributed to the children the day before the implementation and teachers explained the media to be used in preparation for planting. Children brought media for planting from home since their parents are farmers, thus, it was not difficult to prepare. They looked for their favorite vegetable seedlings at home and took them to school. Among them were chili, tomato, scallion, celery and mustard green.

After arriving school, teachers checked their plastic pots and taught how to take care of them. Children wrote down their names on the pots to be responsible for the maintenance. Plastic pots were laid out at the back of the school per class.

Children requested to make an essay on the activity and in general, they were all happy with this environmental action. They felt fresher because it is held outside of the classroom and learning with nature proved beneficial for them.