THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government UP School in Nemom now has a garden with over 100 varieties of medicinal plants. The school set up the medicinal garden with the support of its students and parents. They collected plants from the surroundings of their home and village.
Tulasi, karuka (scrutch grass), muyal cheviyan (emilia sonchifolia) and many other different traditional plant varieties are available in the garden. The initiative is also part of a carbon-neutral project and has been developed under the leadership of Pallichal AYUSH Ayurveda Primary Health Centre.
“As a part of the carbon-neutral project, about 25 different varieties of medicinal plants were given to the school by the health centre. We aim to nurture these plants and create awareness among students. However, instead of just planting them, we thought of creating a garden jointly with the parents and students,” said A S Mansoor, headmaster, Nemom UP School. Plants are labelled with their common and scientific names for easy identification.
The headmaster said, “Students will be given a biodiversity register where they can document plants they identify, be it from their house premises or their neighbourhoods. The 100-page book will have three pages dedicated to each plant. Students can describe them in any form such as conversation, story, drawing or a detailed description itself”."
"The assignment will also include collecting leaves of medicinal plants. This will help students understand their features and use," added the headmaster.
According to school authorities, the project will help students know more about the traditional medicinal plants in the state. “There will also be interactive sessions between students and teachers,” said a source with the school.
“The carbon-neutral project aims to reduce the carbon footprint in the panchayat. As part of this, vegetable gardens have also been set up at various government offices and schools. There are about 12 government schools in the panchayat. Currently, we have decided to set up medicinal plant gardens in five schools,” said T Mallika, Pallichal grama panchayat president.