As one steps into Jing Shan Primary School, it is hard to ignore a row of tall cases full of lush, green, leafy vegetables. This space in front of the canteen is called the Sprout Spot.
It houses an indoor hydroponics planting system, where pupils grow and harvest baby bak choy, lettuce, mustard greens and kale. The school in Ang Mo Kio produces at least eight harvests a year, and the vegetables are distributed to canteen vendors, pupils, staff and guests of the school.
The Sprout Spot is part of its Applied Learning Programme, which sets out to foster a culture of sustainability through lived experiences. Subject lessons and learning spaces feature prominently in the campus.
Vice-principal Angela Ng Suat Theng told The Straits Times that the school believes in sustainability as a way of life. It adopts the “teach, embed and live” approach, where pupils and staff are agents of change, and champion sustainable practices learned from the school in their own homes and the community.
Ms Ng said: “When students believe that their actions and decisions matter and can make a difference, they are more inclined to make everyday decisions that reflect a sustainability mindset.”
Innovative spaces like the Sprout Spot illustrate the farm-to-table concept to pupils as lived experiences. With the School White Area and Canteen Grant to be introduced in 2024, the Ministry of Education (MOE) hopes that schools will tap it to innovate and optimise their learning spaces, to enhance their 21st Century Competencies efforts.
Read the entire article in the Straits Times Singapore