Students and staff of St. Antony’s Upper Primary School, Kannoth, with the seed packets obtained from the Seed Library at the school recently.
Walking along the school corridor, no one can miss the small wall shelf with a glass door in which around 100 glass bottles, containing a variety of seeds, are lined up. Curious students take their questions to the teacher in charge of the Seed Library where they are offered a wealth of information regarding seeds, their germination, preservation, and cultivation.
The Seed Library, a novel concept as it is, has been set up at St. Antony’s Upper Primary School at Kannoth in Puthuppady grama panchayat in Kozhikode district. It is arguably the first-of-its-kind in any school in the State and is intended to kindle interest in agriculture among the students at a time when they are largely moving away from nature.
The library boasts around 50 types of pulses and 45 varieties of chillies, besides paddy and vegetable seeds. “We encourage children to bring rare seeds from their homes to include in the Seed Library and thus hold a discussion about each of them,” says Jaffer Siddique, the Arabic teacher of the school and the brain behind its environmental activities.
The activities of the library are not limited to collecting seeds but putting them to use as well. “We have started cultivation on the school premises on a small scale involving interested students. We have enlisted the support of the Science Club, Social Science Club, and the Malayalam Club at the school to experiment with the seeds to create awareness of agriculture and produce literature on it. We intend to include all these activities in the curriculum,” says Shilly Mathew, Headmistress of the school.
The school will provide the students with the required seeds and saplings to cultivate at home while educating them on the right farming methods, including pest control, weed control, and nurturing of plants. The first batch of 900 packets of seeds has already been distributed among the students and staff. Besides, a prize has been announced for the best farmer among them.
“Our intention is to bring back farming culture and organic food habits. Through the seed bank we expect to inculcate a sense of cooperation, social responsibility, and sensibility towards agriculture and agriculturalists in the students,” Mr. Siddique says.
St. Antony’s school is known for its environment-friendly activities, especially the children’s forest comprising around 150 trees, including teak, jack, mango, and mahogany. The school, which recently celebrated its silver jubilee, has also been shortlisted for the State government’s Vanamitra Award this year.
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Printable version | Oct 22, 2022 7:56:49 pm | https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/seed-library-at-school-to-kindle-interest-in-agriculture-among-students/article66043997.ece
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