UJ Botanists Introduce the Westdene Recreation Centre Project

​The Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, as part of a community outreach programme, invited the nursery school children (ages 4-5) to participate in creating a hanging Garden for their school yard. In this project, the children planted different types of lettuce and basil. Ms Estherna Pretorius, and her team of tutors, which included Ms Londeka Hlubi, Mr Sandile Khumalo and Mr Bogani Mashego, provided planting materials and assisted children in starting their garden. The vegetables were grown in upcycled 2-litre bottles that were converted into a four-layer hanging container making up a vegetable-hanging-garden. These hanging gardens were constructed with the help of Mr Stanley Khumalo, also from The Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology. The project aims to teach children about sustainable living through growing a vegetable garden and harvesting it for their use. It aims to also teach children to appreciate all the effort that goes into growing vegetables, thereby developing a better understanding of this practice.