Several employees of Editorial Funglode, participated today in a day of maintenance of the vegetable garden consisting of: weeding, soil removal, cleaning branches and dry leaves, pruning, filling containers, transplant and planting.

The garden of the Editorial Funglode is an urban garden, located in the center of the city of Santo Domingo. It is composed of a stonemason where direct seeding is done, but also wooden boxes, planters and pots are also used.

The vegetables that were planted this time were: celery, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and arugula. They have also sown: eggplant, broad coriander, leek, oregano, baby spinach, purple basil, green basil, rosemary.

The garden of the Editorial is integrated into the inner courtyard garden and is a great advantage as the beauty of ornamental plants combine with vegetables. In addition, it raises the wealth for pollinators such as birds, butterflies and bees, which is favorable for successful fruit production is increased.

Ornamental plants that were added to the garden’s setting were: Coralillo in its white, pink and red varieties; Isabel II, Doña Sanica, yellow and white flower varieties, Mexican bell and dandellions.

About EcoHuertos
The EcoHuertos program seeks to support the creation of organic and sustainable vegetable gardens in schools and communities throughout the Dominican Republic. It also supports hands-on workshops in the field of natural sciences contained in the educational curriculum. The program generates awareness on the importance of a balanced diet, contributes to food security and independence, as well as creation of small local business.

Related Links:
www.globalfoundationdd.org

Centro Educativo Jardín del Saber, with the support of the GFDD program EcoHuertos, is taking the first steps to create its own organic garden. On April 10, a total of six students accompanied by the director of the school, a member of the community, and the carpenter and his assistant began the construction of an urban roof garden.

After cleaning and conditioning the area, participants recycled pallets, collected by students and teachers among the community’s merchants, to create palisades. Also old tires and plastic bottles were reused.

Thus ended the first stage of creation of the roof garden in La Zurza, and Cristiana Cruz Minier, program coordinator, announced that on May 1 the work would be completed.

La Zurza, Santo Domingo, May 3, 2016

In order to complete the creation of the organic and sustainable vegetable garden started last April, EcoHuertos Program Coordinator Cristiana Cruz Menier, worked last weekend with fifty people linked to the Centro Educativo Jardín del Saber, in La Zurza. The construction of the garden, an initiative without precedent in this area of the capital, laid on recycled materials and much creativity from the community. The garden, installed on the roof of the Center, is now a reality.

After having explained to the participants the previously established garden design and listened to their ideas and opinions, work teams were made and roles were assigned. Among the participants: 11 school student, three teachers and 22 members of the group Juventud en Acción, the Vice President of FUNDSAZURZA, and the Vice President of SODIZUR.

In addition to painting the fence of the garden, old tires, plastic gallons and bottles were prepared to be reused as planting containers. Plastics were cut and the tires were placed two by two according to their size and bags and sacks were placed inside to be filled with substrate.

Moreover, seedlings of eggplant, sesame seeds, tomatoes, chard, celery, baby spinach, lettuce, leek, passion fruit, cilantro, pepper and oregano, as well as attractive ornamental plants for pollinators, were planted; and seeds of onion, radish, roman lettuce, eggplant and beetroot were sown.

The day concluded with the watering of the plants and cleaning up the garden, amidst the excitement of children and adults for the success of the creation of their roof garden.

About EcoHuertos
The program seeks to support the creation of organic and sustainable vegetable gardens in schools and communities throughout the Dominican Republic, as well as support, through hands-on workshops, the areas of natural sciences contained in the educational curriculum. The program also generates awareness of the importance of a balanced diet, achieving a greater appreciation for and receptiveness toward the consumption of vegetables.

Related Links:
www.eco-huertos.org
www.globalfoundationdd.org

A total of 35 students and 3 teachers from the Hogar del Niño School in La Romana participated in an EcoHuertos course on Basic Cultivation, part of a GFDD/FUNGLODE initiative, held on April 29th.

The course was attended by 35 students and three teachers from the Eco Huertos Group as well as representatives from the school community.

Following up what they learned at the Induction Workshop, the course – given by the Agronomy Engineer, Wilkin Encarnación – students and teachers received specific instructions on how to care for a garden and about each vegetable they planted. They learned about how much light and water was needed, types of soil, the recommended distance between plants as well as when and how to harvest, among other gardening advice, explained Cristiana Cruz Minier, EcoHuertos Coordinator.

The Hogar del Niño School gardeners planted Swiss chard, okra, radishes, corn, eggplants, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, peppers and arugula, among other veggies.

EcoHuertos works to create sustainable and organic gardens in schools and communities throughout the Dominican Republic, while supporting the study of Natural Sciences in the school curriculum through practical, hands-on activities. The program also raises awareness about the importance of a healthy balanced diet and highlights the value of eating fresh fruit and vegetables.

La Romana, Dominican Republic, April 23, 2015 

A group of students from Hogar del Niño School enthusiastically presented the harvest from their garden, which was planted a few months ago under the guidance of EcoHuertos, an initiative of GFDD/Funglode.

Rodolfo Mojica, the teacher in charge of the project, said the elementary students happily posed for the camera while showing the progress of their plants. The children planted lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, radishes, and other vegetables, whose seeds were donated by the EcoHuertos program. Mojica said, "Through this initiative children have the opportunity to develop their learning skills in natural sciences, interact directly with nature, acquire new and practical experiences on the importance of preserving the environment, and encourage individual and team work through the school garden.” 

The creation of the school garden is part of the objectives of the EcoHuertos program, which offers students a place for recreation, relaxation, and physical activity, while supporting the concepts of the natural sciences and experimental activities in the education curriculum.  

Since its inception, the EcoHuertos program has successfully created more than 20 gardens in various educational and community centers and homes in the provinces of Santo Domingo, Santiago, San Cristobal, Bani, Azua, and Monte Plata. 

More information: www.globalfoundationdd.org

Santo Domingo, April 23, 2015

Under the slogan The Future of Food: Feeding the World and Taking Care of the Planet the IV Geography Week Fair was held on April 21 and 22 at Plaza Sambil mall in Santo Domingo, with the aim of creating awareness in schools, families and society about the importance of caring for our planet to ensure food for future generations. GFDD/Funglode actively participated during the Fair, presenting the documentary Madre Tierra, alimentando a más de 7,000 millones de habitantes with a presentation on Sustainable Agriculture in charge of Dr. Cristiana Cruz Minier, EcoHuertos program coordinator, who gave a talk on good practices in agricultural techniques.

11 research projects on the future of food developed by students of primary and intermediate level were displayed, who were awarded three first places and two honorable mentions. Winners Modesta Pérez, Maria Paula Reyes and Franklin Ortiz Rodríguez received the book Dominican Republic Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Environment, an A to Z guide of the environment and natural resources of the Republic Dominican.

The event was also attended by Bienvenido Flores, chief of the Directorate General of Community Involvement of the Ministry of Education, Gero Vaagt, country representative for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Gema Hidalgo General Manager Listin Diario Group, Miguel Franjul, Director of Listin Diario, and Rosario Vásquez, in charge of Plan LEA. 

Among the institutions and partner companies involved were the National Geographic Society, the Ministry of Education: Department of Community Involvement, the Pan American Institute of Geography and History, the School of Geography, UASD, the University Geographical Institute of the UASD, Grupo Jaragua, FAO and Giladan.

March 21, 2015, Santo Domingo

The EcoHuertos urban garden at the Escuela Básica Concepción Bona in Hato Nuevo, Manoguayabo, is taking shape, since the team of students and teachers began the process of planting seedlings and seeds in four flower beds created last week. The event took place on Friday, March 20 under the guidance of Cristiana Cruz Minier, program coordinator.

With the guidance of Eco-Huertos’ program coordinator, Cristiana Cruz Minier, members of Editorial Funglode started planting the seeds in their new urban garden, where last
week they prepared the garden boxes, pots and baskets for direct seeding and transplanting seedlings. The activity took place on February 26 at Editorial Funglode’s headquarters in Esperilla, Santo Domingo.

Santo Domingo, February 24, 2015

After recently participated in the Induction Workshop of Eco-Huertos program, where they learned the basic techniques to create a sustainable garden, twenty members of the Funglode editorial in Esperilla, Santo Domingo joined with joy and enthusiasm to the first stage of the work to prepare their own garden in the institution. The process was supervised by Cristiana Cruz Minier, coordinator of the Eco-Huertos program.

Santo Domingo, February 4, 2015

Employees of Editorial Funglode participated in the Induction Workshop of Eco-Huertos program, where they learned the basic techniques to create a sustainable garden. The event, held on Friday, January 30, is part of the activities performed continuously by GFDD/Funglode's program Eco-Huertos, to raise awareness about the importance of a balanced diet and how we can get it through our own home garden.