US$50 000 to go towards expanding Garden Project

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) implemented by the United Nations Development Pro-gramme (UNDP), will be providing both technical assistance and grant funding to the tune of US $50,000 to the Garden Project, as it formally moves into secondary schools across the island.

 

 David Bynoe, National Coordinator of the GEF Small Grants Programme revealed the above yesterday, during a ceremony held to launch the Garden Project’s Expansion to Secondary Schools. The programme is being pushed by the Youth Development Programme of the Division of Youth in collaboration with the Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools (BAPPSS) and the ceremony was held in the training room of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth.

 

 “The Garden Project as a component of the REAP (Regional Entrepreneurship and Agriculture Programmes) Initiative has now formally graduated to the secondary schools and I am proud to state that it will be going to at least one secondary school in every parish,” Bynoe stated.

 

 “I regard myself as one of the parents and stewards of this project over the last six years of its growth and evolution. Like any proud parent, it has been a pleasure observing the garden project grow and evolve from one primary school in Christ Church, to impacting 30 schools across eleven parishes of Barbados. This Garden Project has been seamlessly integrated into the REAP Project and has successfully engaged 1300 primary school youth in the science and business of sustainable agriculture,” Bynoe added.

 

 “The Garden Project and the REAP Project have cohesively embodied a transformational vision that marries entrepreneurship, agricultural science and environmental conservation. Therefore, it should be of no surprise that the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme is engaged in this partnership, providing both technical assistance and grant funding to the tune of $50,000 USD,” he further remarked.

 

 Bynoe noted that the SGP continues to play an integral role in fostering projects that have a national impact in Barbados. Meanwhile, Marsha-Ann Clarke, Founder and President of Youth Equipped to Achieve (YEA), indicated that the Division of Youth will also be contributing some BDS $40,000 towards the project, which will focus on soil testing, organic farming, agri-preneruship, and producing a Market Day for over 100 students involved, who will get the opportunity to showcase and sell their products.