Why pursue an ecological education program?

Children today need to be exposed to more than standard curriculum subjects when attending school or nursery. In theory, people are dependent on each other and the environment in which they live, and yet, mainstream education fails to recognize the importance of our interconnectedness in contemporary educational practices.

A Mindful Ecological Education Program, Sandy Seeds wholeheartedly believe that a major emphasis needs to be placed on wellbeing in all schools, nurseries, and communities. Their holistic approach to 21st Century instruction is to engage student of all ages in the ecological system in which they live.

Led by founder, Justine Bain, and partners; Jennifer Small and Kamelia Bin Zaal, Sandy Seeds bespoke curriculum aims to address childhood obesity, mental health issues and food education with a unique ‘mind to table’ syllabus. Encompassing a number of key programs, the bespoke curriculum focuses on food education, teacher training, mindful education and food technology.

Educating children in the UAE about the food system is at the heart of Sandy Seeds approach, and they believe this starts in schools with educators, and at home with parents. Their bespoke program offers mindful training, edible gardening training and implementation, health awareness consultancy and bespoke educational research.

This educational research is the first step to the adoption of the Sandy Seeds curriculum. The team looks at the culture of every school, nursery, and community individually, and through action research, work with them through training and mentoring programs to create a tailored syllabus that encourages a collective responsibility amongst parents and educators.

Responsibility and working together in the UAE’s environment is something that partner, Kamelia Bin Zaal, is particularly passionate about. An award-winning Emirati Creative Landscape Designer, Bin Zaal believes that teaching children to nurture and grow edible gardens is the key to change, both at home and in schools.

A powerful activity for children with proven benefits, Edible Gardening helps children learn about the community, working together, and nurturing the land and themselves through nutrition. They develop entrepreneurial skills by learning to become producers and in turn develop critical thinking skills. Problem-solving is also important if a crop may fail to thrive. They learn to understand ecology and the balance of nature.

Sandy Seeds has seen first-hand the positive effects that learning outdoors has on children. Higher levels of alertness and increased readiness to absorb the information are being taught by teachers, who have taken part in Sandy Seeds Teacher Training Program.

Offering not only support and learning for edible garden design and implementation, Sandy Seeds Teacher Training Program provides training guides for their Internationally Accredited Mindfulness Teacher Training.

The Mindful Seeds program, based on a scientific approach that is non-secular, teaches mindfulness, self-regulatory practices, tolerance and stress relieving techniques.

While each section of the program demonstrates and prepares the learner on how to create and sustain a positive growth mindset in their children, and in their teaching practices, it’s important to note that it also supports cross-curriculum studies. Teachers can use Sandy Seeds Edible Gardening Program as a resource for formal assessment methods that transcend the traditional learning environment. Pupils that learn somatically will adopt knowledge effortlessly by experiencing theory in a practical way, which makes for easier recall. Students that learn more experientially will benefit from cross-curriculum interdisciplinary studies and become more focused and relaxed in the process.

Sandy Seeds Program has experienced great success in Dubai English Speaking School (DESS), and Victory Heights Primary School, who continue with Dubai’s first ‘Garden to Plate’ project, many years after it was implemented by Sandy Seeds founder, Justine Bain.

Sandy Seeds curriculum launches at schools and nurseries across the UAE in September 2017. For more information, email [email protected].