E-course on vegetable gardening
Vegetable gardening in the comfort of one’s home is something that has captured the interest of many during the lockdown because it’s a great way to save money and secure the quality of food as opposed to buying from the market or grocery stores.
With this in mind, Conservation Education Centre – jointly set up by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the Government of NCT of Delhi at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, has started an e-course, ‘Your Vegetable Garden’.
Brainchild of the course, Sohail Madan, project manager at Asloa Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, says, “We have been doing webinars during the lockdown, but this is the first course that we have launched. The four-week course will happen over the weekends through Zoom webinars, and will be monthly feature henceforth. We want more people to participate, but in small batches, comprising not more than 20 people, so that all of their queries are addressed properly.”
The webinars are scheduled every Saturday and Sunday from 5:00pm- 5:40pm. The range of topics include The Perfect Plot, Vegetable Growers Know-How, Cabbage and Leaf Vegetable and Salad; Root and Stem Vegetable, among others.
On putting the course together, Madan says, “The practical of each topic will be covered through the five recorded videos because that isn’t feasible during the webinars. Two live chat sessions will be conducted during the course, where people can ask questions. A Google group will be created for sharing documents and e-books on gardening.”
Apart from this, course material including four lesson plans, three online test modules, and a certificate of participation will be given. A WhatsApp group will be created for queries related to gardening. Participants can send their queries daily between 10:00am to 5:00pm.
“Gardening is something that people can do inside the comfort of their homes. From students above Class X to housewives to working people, anyone can join this course. This course will help build a community of people indulging in home gardening,” says Madan, with hope.