Written By: Rachel Su
A visit to City Sprouts: A shared outdoor experiences as active participants in nature
Our young nature enthusiasts took a special trip to City Sprouts – a visit they had eagerly awaited since the first day of our Appleland 3D2N camping.
Upon our arrival, we were greeted by their friendly farm adventure programme hosts. We then started the farm tour by exploring and discovering the tiny but mighty insects that helps to nourish the soil – worms. Look at those brave students!
Next, we moved on to another area where they grow paddy fields, mushrooms, and vegetables (hydroponics).
Moving on, we were brought to another area which was called “Community composting site” where organic waste like food scraps, leaves are collected and broken down naturally into nutrient-rich compost. The host then explained to us about the 3 stages of compost – Initial/Active and Curing stage which microbes and microorganisms would break down all the organic materials.
Besides plants, there are also cute animals like ducks and chickens too! The children had fun interacting with the animals.
After all the outdoor activities, the programme hosts then bought the kids back into their indoor classroom to conduct hands-on activity. In this activity, the children will be growing broccoli seeds from scratch. They started by putting soil into their own little pot, then followed by rolling clay into a ball and lastly, rolling the clay ball around the broccoli seeds before putting the clay ball into the pot.
Through this experience at City sprouts, the children were able to connect classroom learning to real life. They showed excitement and curiosity as they interacted with animals, observed different crops, and participated in simple planting tasks. This hands-on learning fostered responsibility, respect for living things, and an appreciation for nature.
