A bunch of girls and boys have been getting their hands dirty at school — digging soil, sowing seeds and adding manure. Their reward: an abundance of fresh vegetables and flowers in the terrace garden.

Students of classes V to IX at Sri Sri Academy have grown cauliflowers, coriander, chillis, brinjals, tomatoes pomegranates, oranges, mangoes and flowers such as petunia, dianthus, dahlia and marigold as part of their gardening class every Saturday. About 60 students have opted for gardening as an activity.

“Everything now is available to students through technology and while we are so focussed on development and technology we must not forget nature. Children do not get to smell flowers, feel the soil or see the eco-system living under the earth. As a school we need to teach them that we live in nature and it is a symbiotic relationship,” said Suvina Shunglu, the principal of the school.

The school feels most students don’t see gardening as an exciting hobby unlike robotics and would rather play Farmville on their smartphones, but the idea is to start with a few and gradually involve others as well.

Teachers accompanying students on excursions say it is not unusual to hear a child scream at the sight of an insect.

Initially, the children were given gloves but then the school decided to give them a feel of the soil.

After potting a plant, each child writes his or her name on the pot to observe it as it grows, transferring it to a bigger pot as and when necessary. Many of them take home the vegetables they grow and hand it over to their families with pride.

“My grandma loves spices and I gave her chillis that I had grown in school. She loved them and said they were really hot unlike the ones that were available in the market,” said Adit Singh, a student of Class VIII. As the students toil under the sun, they gradually develop sensitivity and start caring for the plants. “I come to water the plant and tend to it to check if there is any fungus growing on it. When it grows properly, it makes me happy,” Roshni Ray of Class VII said.

“The children get really involved with the plants. The compost is also made in school,” said Samriddhi Singhvi, the gardening teacher.

The gardening class has also helped some students persuade their parents to grow plants at home.