Reydi Moreta
GFDD’s Eco-Huertos program has teamed up with its newest partner, Ser Eco Foundation, to work towards creating a horticulture therapy center with the first sensory garden in the Dominican Republic. The garden will be located at the Dominican Hippotherapy Center, in Cuesta Hermosa II, Arroyo Hondo, Santo Domingo.
The garden will be curated alongside Estela Rodríguez, founder of Ser Eco Foundation and Laura Bencosme, board member at the same. With support and expertise from Eco-Huertos, the two organizations expect to create several garden settings to fulfill the endlessly growing interests of new generations.
Both Ser Eco Foundation and Eco-Huertos understand the importance of being inclusive and have identified the impending need that the Dominican Republic has for centers like this one. As such, the gardens will be designed to bring community members together and offer a sense of tranquility to all who visit.
Construction has already begun on the community garden, emphasizing sustainability and prioritizing the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle as our core foundation. Every structure, including planting bed frames, signs, fences, tables, and seats has been created with materials available at the location.
With the synergy of ideas coming from the relationship between Ser Eco Foundation and GFDD’s Eco-Huertos Program, this new location shows great promise and will be full of opportunities to explore the crucial human need of feeling at home with the nature surrounding us. And perhaps more importantly, it will work to transform the minds of children and adults alike.
About Eco-Huertos:
The Eco-Huertos 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, areas of natural sciences contained in the educational curriculum. The program also generates awareness on sustainable practices and the importance of a balanced diet, achieving a greater appreciation for and receptiveness toward the consumption of vegetables.
About Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD):
The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), sister organization of Funglode in the United States, is a non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of collaboration between organizations in the United States and the Dominican Republic in order to conduct research, enhance public debate, design public policy, propose strategies and provide training to facilitate change in crucial areas of the social, economic and democratic development of the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean and Latin America.
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Eco-Huertos’ efforts to partner with more schools and educational institutions around Santo Domingo are producing dividends. The program is proud to announce the beginning of Eco-Huertos’ collaboration with The Community for Learning, which will receive our expertise and constant support in the creation and maintenance of its school garden.
Christopher Esquea, a Biologist and Science teacher at the institution, is full of desire to watch his garden prosper. With Christopher’s love for living organisms and the knowledge and care provided by Eco-Huertos, we can create a synergy capable of achieving great learning outcomes for all participants.
The Community for Learning has plenty of available space and is willing to turn most of it into vegetable gardens. To be certain, there is a vast amount of work to do and many chances will arise for learning along the way! Another great perk about the school is that it has a fully functioning compost pile and a system of organic material vermicomposting under Esquea’s supervision.
Eco-Huertos’ first visit to the school was extremely satisfying as it featured the involvement of schoolchildren from the very beginning of the project. They thoroughly enjoyed weeding the present garden beds and sowing seeds, and Eco-Huertos was similarly pleased to foster such a vital connection between humans and the earth as students and teachers alike turned the soil to aerate and prepare it for future plantings.
About Eco-Huertos:
The Eco-Huertos 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, areas of natural sciences contained in the educational curriculum. The program also generates awareness on sustainable practices and the importance of a balanced diet, achieving a greater appreciation for and receptiveness toward the consumption of vegetables.
About The Community for Learning:
The Community for Learning is a bilingual elementary and secondary school which focuses on the individual needs of each student, taking into account academic, social and emotional needs, in order to ready them for the challenges of a world in constant change. It follows a Dominican as well as an international curriculum, and prepares its students to be members of a global community. Among other focuses, it advocates learning that develops the analytical and interpretive skills needed to understand the flood of information generated in the 21st century.
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Continuing its efforts to develop sustainable gardens in educational centers around the Dominican Republic, Eco-Huertos has introduced new plant and vegetable varieties to the Saint George School rooftop garden in an effort to improve its ecology and brighten up the surroundings.
Leading into winter, average temperatures have dropped in the Dominican Republic and made gardens everywhere more habitable spaces for plants to adapt and thrive. But that’s no reason to sit back and relax: instead Eco-Huertos and Saint George School planted a Common bee-brush (Aloysia gratissima) to attract pollinators and make for a more diverse ecosystem. Bees love to feed off this plant, hence its name!
Additionally, a cultivar of hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Red Hot’) has been introduced to the garden to provide science teachers with usable class material when teaching plants’ reproductive cycles and the morphology of flowers. Resulting from its vibrant nature, the hibiscus provides a focal point for the garden visitors due to its beautiful pink, white and green variegated leaves and bright red flowers.
Slowly but surely, the garden at Saint George School is transforming into a micro ecosystem, where beneficial insects find homes to lay their eggs and obtain food; a place where plants help one another combat pests and diseases; and a location where each visitor stays longer than initially intended.
About Eco-Huertos:
The Eco-Huertos 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, areas of natural sciences contained in the educational curriculum. The program also generates awareness on sustainable practices and the importance of a balanced diet, achieving a greater appreciation for and receptiveness toward the consumption of vegetables.
About Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD):
The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), sister organization of Funglode in the United States, is a non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of collaboration between organizations in the United States and the Dominican Republic in order to conduct research, enhance public debate, design public policy, propose strategies and provide training to facilitate change in crucial areas of the social, economic and democratic development of the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean and Latin America.
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For GFDD’s Eco-Huertos program, November is already shaping up to be a great month. Word has spread about the program to private schools in Santo Domingo, and many appear enthusiastic about starting their own gardens through the expertise of Eco-Huertos in the beginning of 2018, after students return from their winter break.
Eco-Huertos is happy to see that Saint George School has continued its efforts to make its garden flourish. On a recent visit, Cheryl Re, Social Studies instructor and designated garden curator, was instructed on how to pinch herbs such as rosemary, thyme and basil. Similar to pruning techniques discussed in the last visit, pinching is a way to direct herbs’ biological process towards increased yield. It consists in removing the apical meristem (top leaf growth) of shoots to encourage axillary branching, resulting in a fuller, healthier plant.
In an effort to bring more scientific grounding to the garden and present to instructors and students basic biological concepts which form the foundations of plant lifecycles, soil pH tests were conducted by Hector Marin Jr., from Koor Caribe, to provide a deeper soil quality assessment than traditional methods can produce. Eco-Huertos is happy to have his support when technical difficulties or water management issues arise at Saint George School.
Ultimately, keeping a garden healthy requires constant observation and ceaseless maintenance, but mostly, what keep gardens running is the love and dedication of those who look after them.
About Eco-Huertos:
The Eco-Huertos 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, areas of natural sciences contained in the educational curriculum. The program also generates awareness on sustainable practices and the importance of a balanced diet, achieving a greater appreciation for and receptiveness toward the consumption of vegetables.
About Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD):
The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), sister organization of Funglode in the United States, is a non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of collaboration between organizations in the United States and the Dominican Republic in order to conduct research, enhance public debate, design public policy, propose strategies and provide training to facilitate change in crucial areas of the social, economic and democratic development of the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Read More:
A few weeks having passed, the collaboration between Eco-Huertos and Saint George School is evolving beautifully and showing tangible results, as seen in a healthier and more diverse vegetable garden.
Recognizing Eco-Huertos’ focus on tie-ins with practical education and curriculum-focused topics, the most recent site visit saw Cheryl Re, Social Studies Instructor and designated garden curator, receiving lessons on the implications of pruning tomato plants as a way of directing photosynthetic energy solely to fruit production, thereby improving the quality and size of each tomato produced.
Though it is not often thought of as such, soil is a vital natural resource that must be preserved to yield desired results. Stressing the importance of care for natural resources, Re and Donald Gotz, Special Projects Director, were provide guidance on simple soil monitoring testing via the “Ribbon Method.” Using this method, soil is pressed between two fingers and checked for the presence of long ribbons, which indicate a high clay percentage in the soil; an impediment to the plants’ nutrient uptake.
As a way to teach students about ecosystem dynamics and the synergies that can be reached when variety is emphasized, Eco-Huertos and Saint George School have introduced companion plantings to the school’s rooftop garden. The new plants will benefit the desired crops by keeping pests away and attracting pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
All of the knowledge shared between Eco-Huertos and the administrators at Saint George School is being spread by Re and Gotz to the children and adults that take part into running the school’s beautiful garden. Eco-Huertos is overjoyed at the instructors’ enthusiasm to achieve a prosperous garden for future generations of students to maintain.
About Eco-Huertos:
The Eco-Huertos 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, areas of natural sciences contained in the educational curriculum. The program also generates awareness on sustainable practices and the importance of a balanced diet, achieving a greater appreciation for and receptiveness toward the consumption of vegetables.
About Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD):
The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), sister organization of Funglode in the United States, is a non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of collaboration between organizations in the United States and the Dominican Republic in order to conduct research, enhance public debate, design public policy, propose strategies and provide training to facilitate change in crucial areas of the social, economic and democratic development of the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Read More:
A few weeks having passed, the collaboration between Eco-Huertos and Saint George School is evolving beautifully and showing tangible results, as seen in a healthier and more diverse vegetable garden.
Recognizing Eco-Huertos’ focus on tie-ins with practical education and curriculum-focused topics, the most recent site visit saw Cheryl Re, Social Studies Instructor and designated garden curator, receiving lessons on the implications of pruning tomato plants as a way of directing photosynthetic energy solely to fruit production, thereby improving the quality and size of each tomato produced.
Though it is not often thought of as such, soil is a vital natural resource that must be preserved to yield desired results. Stressing the importance of care for natural resources, Re and Donald Gotz, Special Projects Director, were provide guidance on simple soil monitoring testing via the “Ribbon Method.” Using this method, soil is pressed between two fingers and checked for the presence of long ribbons, which indicate a high clay percentage in the soil; an impediment to the plants’ nutrient uptake.
As a way to teach students about ecosystem dynamics and the synergies that can be reached when variety is emphasized, Eco-Huertos and Saint George School have introduced companion plantings to the school’s rooftop garden. The new plants will benefit the desired crops by keeping pests away and attracting pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
All of the knowledge shared between Eco-Huertos and the administrators at Saint George School is being spread by Re and Gotz to the children and adults that take part into running the school’s beautiful garden. Eco-Huertos is overjoyed at the instructors’ enthusiasm to achieve a prosperous garden for future generations of students to maintain.
About Eco-Huertos:
The Eco-Huertos 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, areas of natural sciences contained in the educational curriculum. The program also generates awareness on sustainable practices and the importance of a balanced diet, achieving a greater appreciation for and receptiveness toward the consumption of vegetables.
About Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD):
The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), sister organization of Funglode in the United States, is a non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of collaboration between organizations in the United States and the Dominican Republic in order to conduct research, enhance public debate, design public policy, propose strategies and provide training to facilitate change in crucial areas of the social, economic and democratic development of the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Read More:
A few weeks having passed, the collaboration between Eco-Huertos and Saint George School is evolving beautifully and showing tangible results, as seen in a healthier and more diverse vegetable garden.
Recognizing Eco-Huertos’ focus on tie-ins with practical education and curriculum-focused topics, the most recent site visit saw Cheryl Re, Social Studies Instructor and designated garden curator, receiving lessons on the implications of pruning tomato plants as a way of directing photosynthetic energy solely to fruit production, thereby improving the quality and size of each tomato produced.
Though it is not often thought of as such, soil is a vital natural resource that must be preserved to yield desired results. Stressing the importance of care for natural resources, Re and Donald Gotz, Special Projects Director, were provide guidance on simple soil monitoring testing via the “Ribbon Method.” Using this method, soil is pressed between two fingers and checked for the presence of long ribbons, which indicate a high clay percentage in the soil; an impediment to the plants’ nutrient uptake.
As a way to teach students about ecosystem dynamics and the synergies that can be reached when variety is emphasized, Eco-Huertos and Saint George School have introduced companion plantings to the school’s rooftop garden. The new plants will benefit the desired crops by keeping pests away and attracting pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
All of the knowledge shared between Eco-Huertos and the administrators at Saint George School is being spread by Re and Gotz to the children and adults that take part into running the school’s beautiful garden. Eco-Huertos is overjoyed at the instructors’ enthusiasm to achieve a prosperous garden for future generations of students to maintain.
About Eco-Huertos:
The Eco-Huertos 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, areas of natural sciences contained in the educational curriculum. The program also generates awareness on sustainable practices and the importance of a balanced diet, achieving a greater appreciation for and receptiveness toward the consumption of vegetables.
About Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD):
The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), sister organization of Funglode in the United States, is a non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of collaboration between organizations in the United States and the Dominican Republic in order to conduct research, enhance public debate, design public policy, propose strategies and provide training to facilitate change in crucial areas of the social, economic and democratic development of the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Read More:
Beginning its activities for the 2017-2018 academic calendar, GFDD’s Eco-Huertos program initiated its collaboration with Saint George School to create one of the most advanced rooftop gardens out of the entire the Eco-Huertos program.
The garden has approximately twenty six planting beds, vertical planting pots and an automated, double-line drip irrigation system that is able to access each planting space. In addition, an automated, Bluetooth-controlled misting system covers the planting perimeter and helps to mitigate the stresses of extreme heat on the plants. It also works marvels when germinating new seeds.
This joint venture between Eco-Huertos and Saint George School has seen considerable participation from school staff members Donald Gotz, Special Projects Director, and Cheryl Re, Social Studies Instructor. Both have made available their time and efforts to support the development of this amazing project.
As any other garden, it has faced many difficulties including pests, drought, heat stress, compacted soil, and abandonment. Nevertheless, through the invaluable efforts of Gotz and Re, and with the constant follow-up from Eco-Huertos, Saint George School can expect to have a garden with its own ecosystem; the main goal when creating any sustainable and ecofriendly space.
About Eco-Huertos:
The Eco-Huertos 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, areas of natural sciences contained in the educational curriculum. The program also generates awareness on sustainable practices and the importance of a balanced diet, achieving a greater appreciation for and receptiveness toward the consumption of vegetables.
About Saint George School:
Saint George School is a British international school that is accredited by the Ministry of Education of the Dominican Republic, New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Council of International Schools (CIS), and has been a member of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) since 1995. It provides a challenging and comprehensive multilingual values-based education within a disciplined and respectful learning environment, empowering all learners to reach their maximum academic and personal potential. Although the school’s students are mostly young Dominicans (66%), it is fortunate to receive students from all over the world (34%). Saint George School is located in Santo Domingo’s Piantini neighborhood.
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Santo Domingo, September 26, 2016
The workshop "El huerto en el currículo escolar ", the first of its kind in the country which is aimed at teachers of academic institutions, intends to build with the teachers of the participating academic centers dynamic activities and projects to implement with their students, where the school garden is the field of management of cognitive development, attitudes and values. The workshop, an initiative of GFDD EcoHuertos program took place during the months of August and September, in concurrence with the beginning of the 2016-2017school year.
The workshop was taught in several institutions across the island. In Santo Domingo, EcoHuertos coordinator Cristiana Minier visited 22 teachers of the Colegio Adventista Los Girasoles on Monday, August 8. On August 12 it was the turn of 15 teachers from Centro Educativo del Nivel Básico e Incial Paraguay, while on August 30, 17 teachers from Centro Educativo Profesor Juan Bosch attended the workshop.
On the other hand in the Monte Plata province, the workshop "El huerto en el currículo escolar” was introduces to 10 teachers from the elementary schools Centro Educativo Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Escuela Caonabo.
The workshop was divided in three parts. To begin, there was a discussion on the construction of the garden concept: definition, benefits, purposes, types, vegetables, planting, care and maintenance of the garden. Then we proceeded to planning activities, dynamics and projects for the students, where the school garden can be the field of management of cognitive development, attitudes and values. To conclude for the day, activities proposed by teachers were defined, under Fundamental and Specific skills Curricular Design Dominican.
All teachers were very grateful and said they looked forward to the creation of the school vegetable garden as well as the whole process of training courses and workshops where they will be provided with the appropriate knowledge to manage the organic 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
Santo Domingo, September 26, 2016
The workshop "El huerto en el currículo escolar ", the first of its kind in the country which is aimed at teachers of academic institutions, intends to build with the teachers of the participating academic centers dynamic activities and projects to implement with their students, where the school garden is the field of management of cognitive development, attitudes and values. The workshop, an initiative of GFDD EcoHuertos program took place during the months of August and September, in concurrence with the beginning of the 2016-2017school year.
The workshop was taught in several institutions across the island. In Santo Domingo, EcoHuertos coordinator Cristiana Minier visited 22 teachers of the Colegio Adventista Los Girasoles on Monday, August 8. On August 12 it was the turn of 15 teachers from Centro Educativo del Nivel Básico e Incial Paraguay, while on August 30, 17 teachers from Centro Educativo Profesor Juan Bosch attended the workshop.
On the other hand in the Monte Plata province, the workshop "El huerto en el currículo escolar” was introduces to 10 teachers from the elementary schools Centro Educativo Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Escuela Caonabo.
The workshop was divided in three parts. To begin, there was a discussion on the construction of the garden concept: definition, benefits, purposes, types, vegetables, planting, care and maintenance of the garden. Then we proceeded to planning activities, dynamics and projects for the students, where the school garden can be the field of management of cognitive development, attitudes and values. To conclude for the day, activities proposed by teachers were defined, under Fundamental and Specific skills Curricular Design Dominican.
All teachers were very grateful and said they looked forward to the creation of the school vegetable garden as well as the whole process of training courses and workshops where they will be provided with the appropriate knowledge to manage the organic 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