Pictured above: Partners visiting the Westview food garden
The Eastern Cape Department of Education, in partnership with WESSA and key stakeholders, has officially launched the Nelson Mandela Bay District Food Garden Revival Programme, an initiative that will support 53 schools across the district to establish learner-led, sustainable market food gardens.
The launch event, hosted at Westview Special School in Gqeberha, brought together partners including WESSA, Giving Them Wings, Pick n Pay, Mandela Bay Development Agency and the Department of Agriculture, with the Eastern Cape Department of Education leading the programme.
Pictured above: Group photo including all stakeholders, educators and learners
The initiative is designed to strengthen food security, environmental learning and practical agricultural skills in schools, while helping learners understand the important connection between healthy soil, nutritious food, climate-smart agriculture and resilient communities.
Growing more than food
Pictured above: Learners from Ben Nyathi Primary School performing a play on food security
Through the programme, participating schools will be supported to establish and maintain sustainable food gardens that can contribute to school nutrition programmes and, where possible, allow schools to share harvests with their surrounding communities.
The gardens will also serve as outdoor learning spaces where learners can gain hands-on experience in food production, environmental stewardship, entrepreneurship, teamwork and self-reliance.
Delivering the keynote address, Mrs Gxuluwe, Director of the National School Nutrition Programme, highlighted the transformative role of school gardens in education and nutrition.
“A school garden is not merely a piece of cultivated land. It is a classroom without walls. It is a source of dignity, hope, empowerment, and learning. It teaches our learners responsibility, teamwork, environmental awareness, entrepreneurship, and self-reliance. Most importantly, it contributes directly to improving the quality and nutritional value of meals served to our children daily,” she said.
Supporting schools to build sustainable food systems
Pictured above: Nomfundo Ndlovu giving words of encouragement and the importance of this initiative. Planting session at Westview Special School
As communities continue to face rising food insecurity and climate-related challenges, the programme places schools at the centre of practical, local solutions.
WESSA Senior Programme Manager, Nomfundo Ndlovu, said the Food Garden Revival Project reflects the important role schools can play in building long-term community resilience.
“As WESSA celebrates 100 years of environmental education and sustainability action, programmes such as the Food Garden Revival Project remind us that schools are powerful centres of change. By supporting learners to grow food sustainably, rebuild soil health, and care for the environment, we are not only addressing food insecurity, but also empowering a new generation with the skills, knowledge, and resilience needed to build healthier and more sustainable communities,” said Ndlovu.
From garden revival to community resilience
The programme will continue to support participating schools through the provision of seedlings, seeds, soil rehabilitation support, environmental education, climate-smart agriculture training and ongoing mentorship.
The long-term vision is to build thriving, productive school gardens that contribute to nutrition, environmental awareness, entrepreneurship and community resilience across the Nelson Mandela Bay district.
Through this partnership, WESSA and its partners are helping schools turn food gardens into living classrooms – spaces where learners can grow knowledge, grow food and grow hope for a more sustainable future.