Dubai: Visitors at Zabeel Park enjoyed a full day of activities at the ‘Grow your Food’ campaign’s public event on Friday.
The second edition of the campaign, which was launched by Dubai Municipality on September 27, aims to encourage citizens and expats in the emirate to learn about the importance of home farming and their role in preserving the environment.
“Through this event, the municipality would like to encourage the community to participate and learn about the most cost-effective ways of planting or growing food through workshops, lectures, and activities carried out by our specialists,” a municipality spokesperson told Gulf News.
Specialists at the event shared tips on how to start organic farming in limited space with less water to encourage the public to plant seeds and nurture them in the giant pots.
“The aim of the event is to support the vision of 2021 ‘Green Dubai,’ and to support food security in Dubai,” added the spokesperson.
The public awareness event also hosted a range of activities for children and various activities carried out by a group of people with special needs called The Enable group. “They will contribute by demonstrating indoor planting tips, and will conduct workshops for the public to help them understand that people with special needs are special in a different way,” said the spokesperson.
At the launch of the campaign last month, Gulf News reported the registration of more than 500 participants, including 300 residents and 100 schools. All registered participants can take part in the free workshops taking place every Saturday between October and November at the Al Khawaneej farm of the Desert Group Nursery.
The campaign also carries out a competition for the best vegetable gardens in homes, offices, schools and special needs centres in Dubai, awarding the winners with cash prizes after the three-month contest ends in February.
Existing and new gardens will be assessed in separate categories. The jury consisting of local, national and international experts will shortlist and visit the top 10 gardens in each category after assessing their photos posted on the website (www.growyourfood.ae) and Facebook page for the campaign.
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Grow Your Food Campaign details
Registration: Through www.growyourfood.ae
Categories: Villas, apartments, schools, offices, special needs centres
Workshops: On every Saturday in October and November at Dubai Desert Group’s farm in Al Khawaneej
Contest: From December to February
