Enthusiastic kinder gardeners came to OES farm on 19th February Sunday to learn about protecting their Spinach and Coriander plants from pest attack.
Using chemical pesticides without thinking about their effects on the environment and people leads to adverse effects on the health of individuals and biodiversity. Implementing eco-friendly pest management techniques by understanding the insects and their life cycles will be beneficial to life. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a sustainable approach of combining various scientific and traditional Indian techniques to prevent & control pests.
Sreedevi Ande and all the Kinder Gardener participants gathered at the farm patches early in the morning. She explained about pests and sustainable ways of controlling them. Under their coach's guidance, they keenly observed the plants to look for pests. They did not find any and were very happy. Their coach said it’s good that their plants have not been attacked by any pests but told them prevention is better than treating a pest attack, later.
Controlling pests adhering to natural farming practices is a tough task but it is the best way to ensure healthy food. It is the way to go forward if we want to ensure safe food being produced. Traditionally neem trees have a lot of significance in india. In agriculture also various parts of this plant are used for many purposes as improving soil fertility, preventing and controlling pests. Its seeds are used to make neem oil having the properties of acting as pesticide.
After observation of the pests, all the children came to the spot where everything was kept ready for them to prepare neem oil solution. Sreedevi, showed how to mix neem oil with soapnut solution to make a good biopesticide. They took the prepared solution into their spray bottles to apply it to their plants.
They sprayed this solution not only on the spinach and coriander patches but also on the flowering plants they have planted during their second session. This was a very joyous activity for all the kids.
As they came to the end of the session, they were all asked to sit down on the ground to engage in a delightful activity. Each of them was given an activity book where they had to color, introspect, write about helping the earth, being a green hero, and compose a letter to humanity. They all liked this activity very much, especially when they were asked to hunt for insects, plants, and birds to work on a nature scavenger hunt exercise.
This gave a happy ending to the 4th session. They were also given 2 bunches of spring onions as an appreciation for their curiosity to learn about farming.
Organo Et School strives to empower people to embrace eco-living mindsets, behaviors, and habits. We recognize that for any positive impact to be sustainable, it must be long-term and inter-generational.
Organo Et School is a learning initiative set up by Organo in 2017 and has been facilitating field visits and workshops for Schools and Interest Groups. Organo Et School has had over 25+ schools, 6500+ students and 3000+ adults participate over the last 5 years.
You can find our upcoming workshops here → https://www.organoetschool.co.in/registration
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