A programme to create vegetable gardens in Monaco schools has been renewed for another year, allowing more children than ever to get their hands dirty and connect with nature.
A generous donation from Monaco Telecom of €10,000 has helped extend the project, which was launched in 2020 by the Prince Albert II Foundation (FPA2), the Department of National Education, Youth and Sport, and Monaco-based agricultural company Terrae.
The FPA2’s vice president, Olivier Wenden, was handed the cheque at the Ecole des Révoires primary school on Monday and commended the boost to the hugely popular project.
“We welcome Monaco Telecom’s commitment to this important project [that raises] schoolchildren’s awareness on sustainable development through practical and fun urban vegetable garden activities,” said Wenden. “This programme, which enables children to create a link with the earth and change their view of food, actively participates in forging a new relationship with nature, from a very young age. We are pleased that the Foundation can help to perpetuate it.”
The donation was offered through the fees Monaco Telecom has collected from customers under 60 who still are being sent paper bills rather than paying for services online.
“For several years now, paper bills have been paid for by subscribers under 60 years of age. The objective is environmental, the idea being to gradually reduce paper consumption in favour of digital invoicing. It is therefore normal that the amounts collected contribute to ecological initiatives. I am particularly pleased this year with our lasting commitment to Terrae and the Ecole des Révoires for the development of educational vegetable gardens,” said Martin Peronnet, the CEO of Monaco Telecom.
This is Ecole des Révoires’ second year in the programme, and their rooftop potager is one of the Principality’s largest, covering over two terraces. Roughly 100 students take part in looking after the gardens via the 35 hours of workshops that take place during the school year.
Terrae founder Jessica Sbaraglia has been a key feature in the collaboration, known as “Planting a Responsible Future with Young Shoots”, and has played an active role in teaching the Principality’s schoolchildren how to grow and harvest their own food through workshops in the gardens. Seven schools have participated in the project since autumn 2020, allowing more than 2,000 students to learn the value and importance of knowing where food comes from.
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Photo source: FPA2