QLA’s herbal garden introduces new form of learning

Sustainability is not just a subject at Qatar Leadership Academy, but it is a concept that has been embedded into the whole curriculum – in all classrooms and activities – and is helping to build a new generation of eco ambassadors.

Qatar Leadership Academy’s (QLA) most recent endeavor is an herbal garden, housing plants that have antibacterial, antifungal, and other medicinal properties, including ginger, garlic, turmeric, mint, basil, and rosemary. It was designed and built by the students, teachers, and staff, and is being utilized by the whole school – in all lessons.

For example, economics teachers are connecting supply and demand lessons with the production of vegetables; in language classes, students are writing articles about the work done in the garden; high school students are preparing plant-based cleaning products and herbicides; and for science teachers, the garden is an outdoor laboratory.

Sunny Joseph, Science and Technical Coordinator at QLA – part of Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education – says: “The herbal garden project started years ago, during which students learned how to grow plants organically.

“Today we are proud to finalize the project. The students are very excited and happy that they were able to complete the garden, thanks to the support of the administration and the participation of the staff.”

The students are currently working on the next phase of the project for the 2021/2022 academic year, which includes an additional herbal garden and building plant boxes out of recycled wood.

“For this next stage, art students will decorate the boxes, while science students have already started to germinate herbal plant seeds. Each team will do the work assigned to them, right up to selling the produce in farmers markets,” says Joseph.

QLA also aims to set up a plant clinic and research center by the end of the school year and hopes to invite students from other schools to attend events and make use of the facilities, such as the hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic systems.

“We are researching and trying to explore the causes and treatments for different plant diseases,” Joseph says. “We also intend to be transplant physicians, and one day we may be able to set up a mobile hospital for plants by visiting farms and providing treatment.

“All these projects will help students develop a variety of life and leadership skills that they need today – and 20 years from now – such as resource management, communication, and teamwork. They have organized many environmental activities; I am sure the lessons they have learned will not be forgotten.”

Salem Al Hajri, a grade 8 student at QLA, says he is very proud to participate in the herbal garden project. “The school has inspired me adopt a sustainable lifestyle,” he says.

"I have a garden at home where I grow various types of plants. It is great to be able to pick mint from my mint plant and make tea from it – as well as things like spinach and grapes.

“I try as much as possible to spread awareness of the importance of sustainability among my friends and people around me, encouraging them to buy local produce, from farms and gardens,” Al Hajri concludes.

Ibrahim Al Hoori, a grade 12 student at QLA, explains that the school has encouraged him to focus on sustainability not just within his academics, but as a future career. “After graduation, I hope to open an agricultural project where many types of plants are produced in order to promote self-sufficiency and encourage local production,” he says.

"Sustainability means continuity, planting for a lifetime and not for a temporary period, and this is what we learned at QLA. Technology has kept us away from nature, and we want to recover what we have lost.

“We have achieved a lot at QLA, participating in international competitions on sustainability, receiving many awards, and implementing several successful projects. I am proud to belong to this school, which helps us to make a difference in our society and our country,” Al Hoori says.