School garden created with recyclable materials at Liapades Junior High

Liapades Junior High School vegetable garden has taken a step further, having been "born" from nothing and is now getting ready to officially open to the public as a mini park, with the opening scheduled for Thursday, April 25th.

The passion, creativity, and above all, the collaboration of everyone - pupils, educators, parents, village residents, and especially the volunteers from the Liapades Recycling Centre - has borne fruit, with the common goal of creating a beautiful space open to the local community and visitors to the area.

Old tyres, curtain rods, bed frames, roof beams, door frames, and unwanted pallets, all recyclable materials, were transformed to be utilised as picnic benches, flower pots, planters, insect houses, benches, and supports for flowers.

The creation of the garden began at the start of the school year in an unused area of the school grounds that until then had been overgrown with weeds. For safety reasons, the school management decided to initially clean it up, but then the idea for its complete transformation was born with a dual purpose. "To develop skills for the 38 pupils at the school through experiential processes and to create an open and accessible space for the community," Kostas Kostalis, the school principal, told Enimerosi.

17 fruit-bearing trees of nine different species were planted by the pupils and teachers, as well as flowers, and various vegetables, supported at every step by the volunteers from the Liapades Recycling Centre. In fact, the harvest of the first production with cabbage and broccoli was donated to the Community Shop by the pupils earlier this year, which is expected to be repeated with the current harvest of other vegetables.

Reuse of materials

Mr. Kostalis told Enimerosi that the vegetable garden that was initially created has now evolved into a mini park, as flowerbeds, picnic benches, and benches were placed, created with reused material. "Nothing was purchased except soil and some tiles, as recyclable materials were utilised for the garden's creation," he said. "The whole local community, the School Parents' Association, and the volunteers from Liapades Recycling Centereave embraced our effort, and everyone has contributed voluntarily. The pupils love going into the garden and busying themselves with watering and cleaning."