EduExcellence Noordhoek is proud to share with Independent Education readers the new developments that we have put in place in 2021. EduExcellence offers CAPS based personalised education as well as a special needs EduSkills Centres. One of the newest initiatives is creating a biodynamic experience for our learners.
Biodynamics is a holistic, ecological, and ethical approach to farming, gardening, food, and nutrition. This aligns well with our philosophies at EduExcellence.
With all of the technological advancements that we are seeing in the 21st century, children often have less access to nature and to animals. Interactions between animals and children have shown, through extensive research, to benefit both parties (as is the case when children interact with nature).
On our campus we have egg-laying chickens, goats, and a vegetable garden. When we first received our chicks, all learners on campus helped to rear them by hand.
Our chickens have just started laying eggs, and the learners are involved with the collection of the eggs. These will be used in our school kitchen to feed all learners and staff. We are working towards the chickens having their own chicks so that the learners can be part of the full life cycle of a hen.
All of the hay and waste from the chickens and goats is placed in our compost heap. This compost is then used to fertilise our vegetable garden.
When gardening, learners are not only rooted in nature but also interacting with the smaller insects and biomes that are connected to gardens.
Sincerely
Tracey Stroebel
EduExcellence Private School, Noordhoek
From the editor: We are pleased to announce that we will be featuring this initiative in the Autumn 2022 edition of Independent Education.