Greening & Educational Gardening
Through our greening and gardening program, Partners improves learning quality, environmental awareness, and students’ understanding of nutrition and sustainable agriculture.
At each school, students plant and maintain organic vegetable gardens, fruit orchards, and tree canopies that create shaded, welcoming outdoor classrooms. These spaces turn theory into practice — integrating lessons in science, health, and environmental studies with hands-on agricultural experience.
The gardens also teach students about nutrition and food security, showing how local resources can support both health and learning.
Community impact and sustainability
Beyond the classroom, the gardens generate income for schools and local families through the sale of fruits and vegetables. Students take pride in seeing their work contribute directly to their communities.
Support for the program comes from partners including Bahir Dar University, ISEE-urk (Netherlands), and the Compassionate Eye Foundation, who provide seeds, equipment, water tanks, irrigation systems, and technical expertise.
Overcoming challenges
Even with limited water and high fuel costs for pumps, schools have continued to expand their greening initiatives. Teachers and students work together to find creative solutions, supported by Partners’s Monitoring and Evaluation team, which is developing new curricula to integrate agricultural learning into multiple subjects.
The program has inspired broader change. Neighboring schools and farmers are replicating the model. One farmer near Sebatamit Elementary, for instance, replaced qat crops (similar to cannabis) with fruits and vegetables after seeing the school’s success.
