‘Growing, Harvesting, Fermenting, Sharing!’ … School Garden Activities Where Children’s Dreams and Happiness Grow

Gyeongbuk Office of Education Selects 15 Schools for 'School Garden Activities' Program

School Garden Activities Where Children's Dreams and Happiness Grow (Scenes from Kumho Girls' Middle School Garden Activities).

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] The Gyeongbuk Office of Education conducted a 2022 ‘School Garden Activity’ program contest targeting all middle schools in the province and finally selected 15 schools to operate the program.

The ‘School Garden Activity’ is a program operated by urban agriculture managers certified by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, aiming to inform students about the importance of agriculture through school garden cultivation from August to December, and to promote character development and emotional refinement during adolescence.

The Gyeongbuk Office of Education has been expanding participation in the ‘School Garden Activity’ program annually, and each school operates it distinctively in connection with the local community.

As a result, Gumi Middle School was selected as the national best institution in 2020, and Kumho Girls’ Middle School in 2021, achieving the outcome of promoting excellent cases to other regions.

The ‘School Garden Activity’ includes ▲garden creation ▲cultivation and management ▲harvest ▲plant utilization programs, helping students understand the growth and life cycle of plants and supporting happy growth.

Through the ‘School Garden Activity,’ students experience nature, learn from nature, and by living together with others in harmony with nature, they gain wisdom and appreciation for agriculture, thereby enhancing self-esteem, a sense of accomplishment, happiness, and relationships.

Newly designated schools receive an average of 7 million KRW per school from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for garden cultivation materials, the school garden activity program, and urban agriculture managers.

In the future, the program will be operated in connection with curriculum classes (project classes, convergence classes, etc.) and creative experiential activities, and at the December results reporting contest, outstanding teachers and operating institutions will receive ministerial awards.

“Grow, harvest, ferment, and share!” Ryu ㅇㅇ, a third-year student at Kumho Girls’ Middle School, which was selected as a national excellent school in 2021 through practice, said, “It was a truly meaningful program where we grew vegetables with our own hands, harvested them, made kimchi, and shared it. I hope to share with even more people next year.”

Kimchi-making activity in the school garden of Kumho Girls' Middle School, selected as an excellent school nationwide in 2021.

Middle School Education Director Bae Seong-ho said, “Through the ‘School Garden Activity’ linked with the school curriculum, we will actively support it to become a program that realizes the joy of cultivation, the happiness of sharing, a healthy life, raises awareness of the importance of agriculture and rural areas for future generations, and helps emotional development during adolescence.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.