Empowering Educators: Highlights from the Health & Well-being-themed Teacher Workshop in the Western Cape

Written by Lanah Murray

On Saturday the 24th of August 2024, teachers from 21 different schools in the Western Cape braved the stormy weather and came together for a Health & Well-being-focused Teacher Workshop held at the City of Cape Town’s Smart Living Centre in Greenpoint. 

The event featured Ashraf Sirkoth as a guest speaker who shared his expertise and knowledge on the principles of permaculture, integrated pest management and more. The programme also included a garden tour in Greenpoint Park led by Velile Maxwell Dingaan from the City of Cape Town.

The day began with a fun icebreaker activity to help teachers get to know each other and start building connections. With everyone warmed up and laughing, teachers were happy to introduce themselves and share challenges they faced with their school food gardens and what they hoped to gain from the workshop. A big focus of the workshop was facilitating group discussions for teachers to voice their questions, ideas and tips about managing school food gardens. These conversations helped everyone feel more motivated and ready to apply what they learned.

One of the main activities for the morning involved teachers  planning and designing their own farming communities. This hands-on task was inspired by one of the CAPS-aligned resources available on the Sustainable Schools online hub. While originally designed as an assessment for Gr 4 learners, the activity gave teachers practical experience and encouraged them to think about how to use these ideas in their own classrooms, or school gardens! After working in groups, each team presented their community design. One teacher found the presentations particularly valuable, noting that if they were to replicate the task in class it would help develop learners’ skills in presenting information. It was interesting to see the different approaches and how each group tackled the activity.

The workshop also allowed teachers to connect with one another and with the Sustainable Schools Team in a relaxed setting. This helped build relationships and gave teachers a chance to discuss their experiences and the support they need for their projects.

Overall, the workshop was a great success, offering teachers useful tools, new ideas, and a supportive network for their school food gardens and other projects. Our teachers had the following to say about the day spent together: 

“Very often we forget that everything in our ecosystem need to work together to form a sustainable system. I enjoyed the focus on what we can incorporate in our garden to help control pests, and promote best gardening companions.” – Glenbridge Special School

“Knowing that this has been in my heart for quite some time now, it helped put a lot of ideas into perspective for me moving forward. Not only for the school but on a personal level as well.” – Willows Primary School

Teacher comments when asked: ‘What value do you see in the Sustainable Schools Programme?’

“There’s a lot of value lots to learn and  I love the interaction with other educators” – St Theresa R.C Primary school

“There is a lot of value in enriching underprivileged schools and communities with the tools to sustain themselves” – Timour Hall Primary School

Lastly, we would like to express a massive thank you to Ashraf Sirkoth and the City of Cape Town for the collaborative efforts in making the day a success!