Balehalli, a small village located on the Yellapur road in Uttara Kannada, has just 20 houses. The quaint village does not have any bus stand, a pucca road or even a signboard. In this village, there is a government primary school that has grabbed everyone’s attention. The school has just 26 students and two teachers. The school believes in promoting green by plantation. In this government primary school, under the guidance of teacher Mallikarjun Bhajantri since 2023, children have been farming. With the help of the students, the school cleared out the bushes and plants around the property and decided to grow a garden. Now, the garden is blooming with colourful flowers.
What makes it unique is the fact that the garden is maintained by the teachers and the students. The children here grow tomatoes, potatoes, marigolds, peppers, eggplants (brinjal), curry leaves, radishes, sugarcane, bananas, Malabar Spinach, turmeric, jasmine, lemons, coconuts and much more. The garden was prepared last year and children have already grown tomatoes and eggplants successfully. They have also harvested bananas from at least 15 trees, much to the delight of the school and the small village.
The initiative does not stop here. The vegetables and fruits that are grown in this garden are then used to prepare the meals for the students. Children take the surplus home. The blooming garden is the result of the hard work of students from classes 1 to 5, who make sure to water the plants on time and take care of them.
Their hard work is supported by the school’s teachers, who further help out in the garden by arranging for compost, seeds of the vegetables or fruits, tools for gardening, fertilisers and much more. The crops grown in the garden are 100 percent organic and are not grown using any chemicals. The school has not been getting the publicity it deserves since it is located in the forest.
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