Project Launch: 3-12-15

Los Chiles is an agricultural community in Costa Rica. The local elementary school offers very little extracurricular activities, leaving students with limited things to do once the school day is complete. This project will implement an after-school organic gardening program at the local elementary school by transforming an unused lot into a function green space. Twenty students will learn the art of organic gardening from start to finish, including planting, watering weeding, harvesting and selling products. The students will sell their produce at a school fundraiser and use the proceeds to buy plants to decorate the school's main entrance.

Project Update: 9/13/15

With help from the community, the unused lot has been transformed into a garden. To increase diversity of produce and participation from students, a second sheltered garden has been created for hydroponics production and shade-loving plants. Teachers are incorporating garden classes into their curriculum, providing over 100 students with classroom discussions and hands-on activities regarding gardening, compost, and nutrition.

Final Update: 6/30/16

The garden has successfully been established on a small plot on the school grounds incorporating a plant nursery, an outdoor hydroponics area, and covered garden beds. The project has steadily developed over the past year and it has already grown to a significantly larger scale than originally planned. The garden has been successfully producing vegetables including lettuce, cucumber, and scallions which have been consumed by students. The two student groups working with the garden have reported enjoying and learning from their experiences with the garden. The project coordinating team has successfully developed a three year plan for the garden's continued development and growth and it is anticipated that by the end of 2017, a full-time gardening teacher will give classes to the student body about gardening and nutrition. While students have not sold produce from the garden, the community felt students would be more motivated to participate if they instead consumed their produce. While the project originally proposed 20 student participants, in the end, two groups totaling 34 students were full-time participants and many more were involved on a semi-annual basis.

Testimonials

"The garden is a seed of entrepreneurship that will, over time, help to show that we have valuable resources in our community that can help us to develop if we make use of them. The children like seeing the plant tables and garden beds. I think the garden significantly contributes to our mission to provide a better service to our stakeholders: the students, teachers, and parents, and to create an environment where they feel content." -Wilton, Project Leader