Field trips to city’s urban farms help schoolchildren to learn from nature

It is field trip time in the city, and during pauses in the monsoon showers, busloads of school children have been visiting urban farms that allow them to have fun and imbibe the love for being amid nature.

The size of these farms vary from 30 cents to a few acres, with crops such as paddy growing on them. 

Class 10 student Vasanth Krishna, who visited a farm in Tiruvallur, said: “It was a nice experience. We were able to learn how farmers lived and worked. We were taught a few things such as sowing seeds, milking cows, and making seed balls. The food served at the farm, amid the trees, was nice.

EPIC SS Farm in Padur off OMR is smaller in size when compared to some others. The children who visit this place are mostly from government schools or those run by the Greater Chennai Corporation.

Former IAS officer Santha Sheela Nair, who takes visitors around, says the children are eager to learn. “I make it interesting for them. I tell them how our planet is such a diverse place and that it is not all a concrete jungle. The children love it as it is different from their school, and start speaking without inhibitions. After visiting our farm, a child said she wished to be an archaeologist. I often tell the children that the people who sent rockets to the moon are from tier-2 cities, and that they too can dream of such things,” she said.

After her visit to EPIC SS, Agnes, a teacher from a government school in Thiruporur, said she was impressed by how an empty plot of land had been turned into a lush farm land. “The children learnt that one need not have comforts like air conditioners to live well,” she added. 

The Jacob and Klooster Lifestyle Farm at Thalambur, where a satvik lifestyle is followed, has an active school programme. This year, they have around 40 schools visiting them.

“We tell them about our lifestyle. We don’t milk the cows but let the calves drink it to their fill. We show them how we live in harmony with nature. We get the children to participate and appreciate the animals and plants. We have placards for the saplings planted by the children. If the schools want, we can arrange for food,” said Shammy Jacob, who has been running the place since 2016, with his wife Charlotte Vant Klooster.

Practical knowledge

Taking farm education a step forward, the Sempulam Sustainable Solutions — founded by K. Vijayalakshmi, former member of the task force of the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movement — undertakes programmes for schools with at least 20 on-farm days for children. They have created syllabuses for several schools, helping children get a practical understanding of how food reaches their plates from the farm.