Ecological orchard – Vertical garden
| Title of the activity | Ecological orchard – Vertical garden |
| Teachers/Schools/Country | Teachers: Inmaculada Argüelles, Paola de la Peña.
School: C.P. Ablaña – La Pereda. Country: Spain |
| Age of the students | 9-10 |
| Class | Primary School |
| Topic of the activity | Sustainability |
| Description of the activity | The school wants to show students the importance of creating a more sustainable society. After doing some debates, they detected the problem of how to protect plants from the rain and the extreme weather conditions. They are working on an ecological garden for the school, and have designed devices to protect plants from the extreme weather conditions. They have also worked on plant pots for a vertical garden.
They started designing the supports using the software Inkscape. Each of the 8 pupils designed the support according to certain measures and established shapes, but also adding what they thought convenient to enrich the design. After the design phase, they decided, through common agreement, which design to use. The production was made in the fablab using the laser cutter, and they made 6 prototypes using 10 mm methacrylate intending to validate the design in the school. Following the sustainability theme, they also decided to design plant pots for a vertical garden they are developing in the school. Following a few established rules, the students designed two different plant pots. In the fabrication phase they made 3 prototypes using laser cutter, using as material methacrylate 5 mm wide. Also, they decided to design a plywood scarecrow with the laser cutter to protect the garden from the birds. The intention of the school is to carry on with the theme of sustainability through the orchards they are creating in the school so they can raise awareness of the advantages of growing and consuming their own products, thus avoiding industrial pollution. |