Report on the Herb Garden (Mac - Oct)
The Science garden was officially handed over to the BP Science Challenge team in March to become the Herb Garden. A core group consisting of the teacher adviser, Miss Liew KY and five Form 4 students was formed. The core group met to draw out a layout plan of the garden and discussed what to do for the garden. Below is a diary of some of the activities carried out.
March : The garden was overgrown with weeds and rubbish was strewn all over the place. A big tree kept the sunlight out. The place was dark and gloomy. It was mosquito infested. Students from Form 4S and 4G started clearing the garden. These students cleared the rubbish and did weeding for two weeks.

Another group of students from Form 4J and 4B got rid of weeds growing in the pots . These two classes started on another part of the garden. Unwanted containers were removed to prevent the breeding of mosquito larvae.

Some student continued his work after school.
Even the Form 3 students were involved. They saw the older students working earlier on and asked for permission to do some work in the garden during recess time. The students took two weeks to clear the garden. Other students became interested and volunteered to do some work during their free time.

April: Once the garden was ready, students started work cleaning up the surroundings of the garden. These students werethe core group. They worked on the garden after school every Wednesday starting from March. They decided to build a place for composting on 29 April.
May: Students started planting in certain parts of the garden. Plants were donated by students and teachers. Some Form 5 students volunteered to prepare another part of the garden for planting.

Because the place was rather muddy especially after a rain, pavers were put in on 5 May. Some drain covers were recycled too to save money.
This place inside the garden was used to store rubbish. The core group decided to turn this into a store for eco enzymes and equipment.
June: Students planned to do some landscaping in another part of the garden. Students partitioned the area with bricks.

Students planted fruit trees such as passion fruits, lemon, lime and mulberry. Students added soil and fertilizers. Form 2 students were involved.
Students prepared an area for the planting of grapes.

July: Students prepared a suitable site for the planting of dragon fruit plants.
Students mixed cement and sand to make a pillar for the dragon fruit plants. The pillar was ready after two days. The pillar is finally up and the dragon fruit plants were planted.
1 July : A group of students including the core group made a visit to FAMA in Seremban to familiarize themselves with herbs.

August: Subsequently, FAMA donated some plants and soil to the school. All these arrived on 4 August. Students planted the herbs donated by FAMA.
One core group member pouring organic compost onto one of the plants. One week later, the plant dried up due to excessive fertilizer. The students learned to use fertilizer in moderation now.

August, September, October: Herbs were regularly harvested and used by teachers. They were also introduced to teachers who were ignorant on the usage of herbs.
Students trimmed the tree. Students cleared weeds and rubbish.

September: Students did maintenance work. They also planted new plants. Students did some weeding as well as harvested some herbs.
Students planted roselle.

October: After the PMR, Form 3 students constructed a stand for a potted plant. They were proud of their efforts.

Many hands made the work light.

Ms Liew KY
Teacher-in-charge