According to schoolteacher Bo-ren Chen, who is responsible for this organic farming project and in charge of equipment at Bali Elementary, this is a case of ¡§beautiful coincidence¡¨. In 1998, the school principal Zhong-xin Wang decided to make use of the inconspicuous wasteland in front of the teachers¡¦ quarters. He designated it an ¡¥Ecological Education Area¡¦ and, with assistance from the Bali Farmers¡¦ Association, turned it into ten patches of cropland. Says Chen, ¡¥with so many small children at the school, we couldn¡¦t have sprayed pesticides or used chemical fertilizers. Actually, this is how the first organic school farm was born!¡¦ Principal Wang¡¦s successor, Chao-zong Xie, added even more enthusiasm and encouraged the pupils to start growing their own vegetables, hoping they could all experience the joy of working with soil.

Before and after class, pupils work busily in the fields in groups: some taking care of watering, others getting rid of insects, and still others collecting leaves for compost. Chen says, with a smile, ¡¥While participating in the organic farming project teaches them about the environment, it¡¦s also a great opportunity for hands-on learning. Growing your own vegetables makes you realize that it¡¦s really not easy, and this way you give more thought to the farmers¡¦ hard work.¡¦

As organic farming shuns the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, even though the soil is treated with the utmost care, the resulting crops often face attacks from invading armies of insects, who sometimes gnaw on the leaves until nothing much is left; this poses a real problem. The children are applying different methods such as ¡¥manpower strategy¡¦ (catching the insects and releasing them again) and other techniques picked up by Chen during a course in sustainable farming at the local community college and from reading books on the subject. Two such methods are using water in which chillies have soaked and employing Bacillus thuringiensis, an environmentally friendly microbiological insect repellant. Although these are not as effective as conventional pesticides, according to teacher Chen ¡§the main aim is to teach the children to treat soil gently, so what if there are a couple of leaves left for the insects to enjoy?¡¨ Another alternative would be to grow only the tuberous crops, such as radish and sweet potato, which are not reached as easily by insects.

The project at Bali Elementary Public School is not only teaching the students about organic farming while providing them with hands-on experience, but is also a good tool for the teachers: they can teach the children to observe how plants grow and how insects are attracted to the crops, and they can also use the new venue for arts class and math class ¡K in the outdoors!

The happiest time for these little farmers is, of course, the harvest. The harvested vegetables are taken home and prepared, and brought back the next day to be shared among the class. Students might only get a tiny bite each, but eating their own produce makes it taste extra nice!

Next to the organic farm at Bali Elementary a pond was created, where many interesting things happen. Teacher Chen and the students discovered a little egret living by the pond and treating it like an all-day buffet. He served himself with fresh fish from the pond until hardly a fish was left. The students tried to shoo him away and even put up a scarecrow, but the bird really was not bothered. It is annoying, but it also amuses everybody.

¡¥One more person experiencing the joy of being close to nature the organic way is one more chance to protect Taiwan¡¦s environment¡¦, teacher Chen says with a smile.