Dubai school grows 100,000kg of fruits and vegetables in a year

Dubai: What can a school do with just 50 square metres of land for a garden? At GEMS Our Own Indian School (OIS) in Dubai, it turns out they can even produce over 100,000kg of fruits and vegetables a year.

In a city known for skyscrapers and sand, this school in Al Quoz has turned its limited open space into a flourishing farm, thanks to a decade-long project that began in 2015 with just two vertical garden stands.

Today, the “Green School” project sprawls across every available surface—from strips along walkways and compound walls to rooftops, and even nearby wastelands and the traffic roundabout.

With over 500 plant pots on the rooftop, hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic systems, and reused materials, students and staff members now grow around 150 varieties of fruits and vegetables, showing that space is not a limit when your roots run deep in purpose.

“It’s nothing short of a miracle that can happen in such a small place in a school that is crowded,” said Principal Lalitha Suresh.

“We have more than 3,700 students and yet, every child has ownership of this garden. It belongs to all of us,” she told Gulf News on the eve of the World Environment Day observed on June 5.

Back in 2015, learning about fruits and vegetables meant pointing to cartoon cut-outs or flipping through picture books. That changed when Suresh envisioned something more meaningful. Inspired by Dubai’s Miracle Garden, she introduced vertical gardens to bring nature directly into students’ hands in a space-constrained urban campus.

What started as an initiative to get children out of classrooms and into real-life environmental learning has blossomed into one of the most recognised school-based sustainability models in the UAE.

Apart from several other accolades in the past, the school recently won the Green School Award at the Sharjah Sustainability Awards, receiving the Model School title and a Dh15,000 cheque to further expand their efforts.

The school also boasts its own farm-to-family app. The Amazon-style app was developed by Grade 11 students Abdul Rahman Sufiyan Maniar and Aman Sanoj with support from Dhruv Suru. It allows parents and teachers to track available produce, place orders, and collect fresh fruits and vegetables from the school’s security cabin while the revenue supports the school’s sustainability initiatives.

“This system has connected our garden directly to our school community,” said Selvarance Johnson, the retiring Manager of School Operations and the project’s pioneering green visionary.

Johnson, who joined the school in 1998 as an English teacher and became a sustainability leader in 2008, has been instrumental in turning the school into a green role model. He has also conducted several workshops to help other schools follow the OIS model.

Known for sharing photos of newly bloomed flowers or ripened fruits accompanied by poems via email, Johnson is beloved throughout the school community. For him, the school garden is his soul with every corner sharing a story, and every plant offering a lesson. For the non-teaching support staff, who carry out most of the work in the garden under his supervision, it is more than just a task—it serves as a form of mental relaxation.

Sustainability is not a side project in this school. It is embedded in the curriculum. As Suresh explains, kindergarten students walk through the vertical gardens weekly to observe plant growth, record pollination, and measure changes in their science journals. Older students have conducted carbon monoxide impact studies and compared growth patterns across different locations on campus

Water used in the garden is sustainably sourced too—from air conditioning drain water, up to 5,000 litres daily, all diverted into storage tanks for irrigation.

From the two vertical garden stands, the school expanded into organic farming where the farm is fertilised by natural manure like cow dung, compost developed at school, neem cake, recycled food waste etc. Then it moved on to hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic systems, making use of recycled materials.

“Starting the aquaponic farming method was an idea that came from the students. Now they are familiar with all methods of farming,” Johnson said.

Student-led eco-club, clean-up campaigns and recycling drives are a regular part of school life.

“Our school doesn’t just talk about sustainability—it lives it,” said student Dishitha Vasudev. “From recycling drives to the beautiful garden and eco-clubs, we lead by example,” she said with pride.

Environment Council President Richa Thilak echoed the sentiment: “Being part of a school that genuinely cares about nature has inspired all of us to think and act differently. It has shaped who we are.”

Beyond gardening, the school promotes sustainable living through various measures, said Shilpa Solomon George, a secondary school teacher who is also the Environment Coordinator.

These include composting vegetable waste, replacing single-use plastics with ceramic mugs and jute bags, running the Tree Wise pencil campaign using recycled paper and hosting eco-competitions and student-led green awareness initiatives.

As part of its outreach, OIS has also welcomed students from other CBSE and international schools to learn from its green practices and has run a “Grow Your Own Food” competition involving parents, said the principal.

“It has been 10 years since we planted our first vertical garden. We started with a yield of around 1,500 kgs, and today, we produce over 100,000 kgs of fruits and vegetables annually. More importantly, we are proud to have nurtured a generation that truly understands what it means to care for the planet,” she added.

Fruits: Mango, Papaya, Lemon, Mulberry, Strawberry, Sapodilla (Chiku), Water Apple, Fig, Pomegranate, Orange, Olive, Sweet Lime and Melons (Water, Honeydew, Cantaloupe, Casaba, Galia, Banana, Bailan, Golden Langkawi)
Leafy Greens: Spinach (Green, Red, Water, Malabar), Coriander, Fenugreek, Palak, Celery, Mustard, Curry leaves, Beetroot, Drumstick, Pumpkin, Agathy, Colocasia, Radish, Beans leaves
Gourds: Ivy, Bitter, Bottle, Sponge, Ash, Snake, Ridge
Beans: Cluster, Metre (White & Green), Long, Flat, Violet, French, Winged
Chillies & Peppers: Multiple varieties including Kanthari and Capsicum (Green, Yellow)
Brinjals: Round, Long, White, Violet, Hybrid
Cucumbers: Yellow, Salad, American
Other Vegetables: Tomato (Big & Cherry), Squash, Ladies Finger (Green, Red, Very Long), Radish, Beetroot, Corn, Yam, Potato, Sweet Potato, Groundnut, Drumstick, Cabbage, Cauliflower
Flowers: Pumpkin, Agathi (Sesbania grandiflora) (White & Pink)