Useful and beautiful

by Nilma Dole

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Walking down the garden path surrounding the Royal College Principal's bungalow is an unbelievable experience. Carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, raddish, tomatoes, and onions grow in this garden located in the heart of Colombo city.

A nursery with pepper, creepers of pumpkin, ash plantain, a variety of chillies, different capsicum, eggplant and manioc add colour to the landscape. Fruits like 'ugure assa', a range of bananas, melons and even pineapples too are aplenty.

In addition to this, a wide range of flowers give solitude and peace. "I always wanted my students to come with a peaceful mind to study which was why I wanted to grow plants and flowers", stated Royal college Principal Upali Gunasekera. "Even though I faced opposition from the staff and students at the beginning with this project, today Royal College is versatile in the agriculture area" he said.

A common complain made by city-dwellers is the lack of space to grow but there is a solution to this. "We have developed an upright contraption with tubes in a large pot where creepers can be grown without using too much space", says the Chairman of Royal College's Agriculture Society Malka Deneththi. The Secretary of the association Anuradhe Ranasinghe explained "We even have two bee keeping stations because pollination is essential in our garden".

They have even designed special wooden structures to support the growth and stability of the plants as they grow around the garden. Most of the plants are kept in bags, watered and given fertiliser and are harvested upon maturing.

Together with the IUCN (International Union of Nature Conservation), Royal College has implemented their own urban school biodiversity programme. They were also featured on the 'Ran Aswanu Mangalya' agriculture competition.

They raise funds for the upkeep and development of the garden by selling vegetables, fruits and compost. In addition to this, they provide students with their own plants absolutely free to grow and consultation services for the management of plants.

Environmental-friendly pesticide usage, new horticulture techniques and hydroponic systems.

"If Royal College can build and tend their own garden, then why can't other schools in Colombo do it?" asks the Principal. This is a valuable lesson that we need to learn which will make the youth understand about the benefits and peace of mind that come by maintaining a garden in your home.