Teacher and Administrator Perceptions of School Gardens in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

We used narrative interviews to explore how teachers and school administrators in low-income schools in Cape Town, South Africa, perceive their school gardens. The interviewees emphasized that, although the school gardens require substantial resource inputs—including funding, labor, and training—they offer great benefits for students, such as an opportunity to expand environmental awareness and concern, develop skills related to growing food, and realize the interconnectedness between the environment and economic and food systems. In this way, school gardens promote the convergence of environmental education, environmental justice, and everyday living. Ultimately, the data constellated around one primary theme: the garden speaks to the importance of greater self-sufficiency for students and staff alike.