Restoring the school garden programme in Ghana: an exploration of the key issues from the past and implications for the future

Abstract

The promotion of environmental education through School Garden Programme (SGP) has gained global recognition. This stems from societies' growing awareness of the fundamental role school gardens play in environmental education and community adaptation to the changing climate. Although the concept is not new in Ghana, its implementation is confined to very limited number of schools. This article focuses on school gardening and addresses the barriers in its implementation to raise environmental awareness in Ghana. Drawing from garden-based educational studies, the study relied on databases such as Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Scopus for recent studies, complemented by grey literature sources. The study revealed that Ghana is making efforts in environmental educational activities but has not successfully integrated the concept of school gardening into classroom curriculum; There is also limited collaboration between the schools and the wider community as well as limited funding for setting up a school garden. These factors undermine the promotion SGP in Ghanaian school. As such, the study suggests that SGP can be enhanced by 1) involving community and relevant stakeholders to promote the benefits of school gardening for positive learning outcomes and behavioural improvements, 2) incorporating it into educational policies/school curriculum to allow students to connect and interact with the natural environment, 3) providing financial support to foster its sustainability, and 4) providing professional development of teachers on SGP to improve their school garden knowledge and skills. By adhering to these measures, existing and future SGP will achieve the desired social (education and health) and environmental outcomes in Ghana and Africa in general.