Purple, pink, yellow, fuchsia, and bright flowers sat in little planters till children attending the hands-on Agriculture Workshop at the 42nd Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2023 reached for their favourite colour and began potting excitedly.
“It’s new and exciting for them. When a child puts the seed into the soil themselves, they can witness each stage of growth in the plan. This creates enthusiasm towards planting,” said Eman Al Marri, Founder of plantwith.amy, a one-year-old agricultural company.
Keen to motivate children to move towards nature and organic farming, Al Marri shared valuable information, teaching them that seed – sun – soil – water are the basic necessities a plant needs to grow well. Seeds should not be planted in extreme weather and that not all insects are enemies of the garden. The earthworm, butterfly, ladybug, bee are ‘good’ friends which help plants grow well, unlike caterpillars, snails or mosquitos.
As the children reached for a spade to scoop soil into their individual pots, Al Marri advised them to use their hands, showing them how to transfer potted flowers into another vessel. “Turn the pot around like this, tap the base gently, now use two fingers to hold the flower gently, then transfer the plant to your own cup.”
Concentrating hard to avoid breaking the pretty blooms, children assiduously shifted the plant to new soil before using spray bottles to water their flowers. “From now on you need to water it every day,” Al Marri advised, adding, “Remember, growing plants and flowers is a process, which teaches patience.”
