IIL Gardening
IIL Gardening is composed of thirteen Year 12 students, each of them having varying objectives and goals. All of them, however, will have IIL Gardening count towards CAS, which stands for Creativity, Activity, and Service. In essence, the goal of CAS is to motivate students to have person undertakings and develop themselves as individuals. Every learning outcome that CAS involves will be covered and backed up for participants along with plenty of opportunities to reflect on work done.
The gardening itself, however, also carries benefits. Each member will be able to learn about plants and effects of sunshine, rainfall, wind, shade on their growth, as well as about the many varieties of vegetables that are grown. Techniques such as planting companions, using plant growth times to allow one comprehensive harvest and selective weeding will also be taught to students. A significant benefit for IIL Gardening will be that students will be brought together to work on a collective project, allowing them to get to know each other as well as their individual strengths and weaknesses.
An interview with one of the participants, Najeeb Bhuiyan, also gives an insight into what participants have to say about it.
What is your personal aim in IIL Gardening?
NB: I believe that it will be a fun activity that anyone can participate and join in. It could also benefit others, such as donating grown vegetables to the less fortunate
What part did you play in IIL Gardening?
NB: With a friend of mine who is also in IIL Gardening, we designed the seed packages for roughly 30 different seeds. These were sold to parents who wanted to help fund the IIL Garden.
What motivated you to join IIL Gardening?
NB: I felt like it would be beneficial to many people. This way, I could help others in my spare time and contribute to those around me. It was also very practical for me to join as it would give me plenty to work on for CAS.
How do you think IIL Gardening might benefit the school and students?
NB: I like how IIL Gardening may teach us about growing food and gather fundamental knowledge about gardening, which could be very useful in the future. It could also add a lot of greenery to our school, which I think is always beneficial.
What would you say to anyone who is considering joining IIL Gardening?
NB: Something I’ve very much enjoyed in IIL Gardening is that it’s a way for people to spend time together and work hard on a long-term project that could help others. If you are interested in that, then I would absolutely recommend you join.