Four schools in Indonesia became the first batch of recipients of BIOTROP’s action research grants this year for its School Garden for Improvement of Student Literacy, Nutrition, and Entrepreneurship Project.
- Effects of Developing Urban Agriculture Thematic Gardens to Increase Academic Achievements of Students at the National Vocational School No. 5, Bandung, West Java
- Improving Self-reliance in Learning Through Hydroponic Gardening Using Task Analysis Among Children with Mental Disabilities at Angkasa Special Education School, West Java.
- Enhancing Students’ Literacy and Nutrition Through School Garden at SMK Unggul Negeri 2 Banyuasin III
- Indraloka School Garden: Toward Improving the Nutritional Status and Academic Performance of Students at the National Secondary School Taruna Nala, East Java
The initiative to provide action research grants is part of BIOTROP’s 5-year road map for its School Garden Project that started in 2016. It specifically aims to (1) To establish empirical data and best practices on the benefits of school garden in improving the literacy, nutrition, and entrepreneurial skills of school students in Indonesia; (2) To enhance the capacities of school teachers in Indonesia in conducting action research; and (3) To generate learning and promotional materials on the benefits of school gardens based on the research results of the grantees.
The proponents of the action research projects are alumni of BIOTROP’s first training on school garden for student literacy, nutrition, and entrepreneurship conducted in March 2016 in Bogor. This training benefited 53 primary, vocational, special education, and secondary schools from nine provinces in Indonesia.
BIOTROP’s School Garden Project took off from SEAMEO College’s Project on Participatory Action Research on School/and Community-based Food and Nutrition Program for Literacy, Poverty Reduction, and Sustainable Development initiated in 2016 through funding support from the Japan Fund for Poverty Alleviation through the Asian Development Bank.
