The Berges de Vessy vegetable garden
A unique school vegetable garden in Geneva to promote life sciences
A living soil, at the heart of the production system and curriculum
Created in 2018 by Slow Food, Graine de Carotte will take over management of the Berges de Vessy educational vegetable garden in 2020. This school project has gradually become a city project. Today, this school kitchen garden is a model in Geneva. It welcomes all 4P pupils from schools in the commune of Veyrier. That’s nearly 200 pupils every year!
A school garden for all the children of the commune
Thanks to this rotation, all pupils in the commune will eventually follow the Graine de Carotte program.
With a particular focus on the nature of the soil, in just 3 years the students have been able to literally transform the soil in the vegetable garden.
The principle here is to nourish the biology of the soil to enable plants to feed in it.
Generously donated by the Veyrier commune’s green spaces department, every year nearly 5 tonnes of chipped Christmas trees are spread on the land. settings.
A natural school garden
This way of cultivating allows:
- – Store up to 10T of co2/year
- – Provide a habitat for biodiversity
- – Fertilization without synthetic synthesis
- – Not to use insecticides
- – Greatly reduces water use
- – Spectacular harvests!
A shared school vegetable garden: « it’s all about doing more with less! »
This 3-school shared vegetable garden is a model for us. An example of how it’s possible to do more with less.
By pooling the site for 3 schools, apart from the logistics of moving classes around, this model has nothing but advantages:
- A large space
- More space per classroom
- Better distribution of zones (by town and by class)
- Possibility of juggling harvests from different zones (less waste)
- One place to store all your equipment
- 3 X Less equipment
- 3 X less travel for watering in summer
- More presence in the garden for more beautiful crops
On average, the school garden produces almosta ton of vegetables a year!
A model we’d like to replicate throughout the canton of Geneva.
In 2023, Simon Thurnherr will take over management of the Vessy riverbank vegetable garden!
And judging by the results, it’s safe to say that the baton has been passed!
Seedlings at school
This year, the focus was on seedling production. Thanks to a simple and effective methodology, the students succeeded in producing magnificent seedlings!
Of the 2,000 seedlings, 500 were distributed to pupils, while the remaining 1,500 were used to replenish the school vegetable garden.
In 2024, the school garden will host a pond
With the help of the Karch-GE association, we have undertaken to create a wetland in the garden. The purpose of this pond is to host a rich biodiversity. Some of its inhabitants (such as dragonflies and toads) will have a beneficial role in protecting the crops.
But beyond that, the pond will have an educational role to play. Showing the complexity of life on a miniature scale!
If you want to know more about ponds, we suggest you read our article on the subject.
This is the pond that will be completed by the students in 2024.
The continuation of the adventures of Geneva’s most beautiful school garden is coming soon!… patience….
Our congratulations to the students for this model of success, which would make many gardeners swoon. We would also like to thank the commune of Veyrier and SIG for their unfailing support.
To discover the Berges de Vessy site and activities
We’d also like to thank the teachers for their investment in this wonderful project.
To find out more about the benefits of school gardens, read our article here.
