The Botanical Garden at Kasetsart University Laboratory School Center for Educational Research and Development 著者 Techakosit Somsak journal or Journal of Developments in Sustainable publication title Agriculture volume 6 number 1 page range 131-135 year 2011 URL http://hdl.handle.net/2241/113471 Journal of Developments in Sustainable Agriculture 6: 131-135 (2011) The Botanical Garden at Kasetsart University Laboratory School Center for Educational Research and Development Somsak Techakosit* Kasetsart University Laboratory School, Faculty of Education, Kasetsart University, 50 Ngamwongwan Rd, Chatuchak Bangkok 10900, Thailand Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn emphasized in her book "Suan Prueksasart Rong Rian"(School Botanical Garden) that "In order to educate and train children to be aware of plant conserva­ tions, the children should be taught and trained to appreciate the aesthetic values, the interesting aspects and the happiness of plants by studying and conserving the plants. Conventional routine teaching and training proce­ dure whose emphasis is on the shoulds and should-nots and the negative impact will put the children under stress, which will not benefit the country in the long run". The school board of the academic year 1995 founded the botanical garden at Kasetsart University Labo­ ratory School (KUS) to raise children's awareness of the importance of the plants. Students have the oppor­ tunity to observe a variety of plants to create awareness of plant conservation in students' hearts. Moreover, the KUS botanical garden can be an outdoor lab for many classes. Each year, the botanical garden committee, appointed by the school board, assigns seven dilferent species of trees to be planted in the school. The students from Grade 1 to Grade 11 are engaged in such activities as observation, research, experimentation, data and sample collection, interviewing, drawing, data processing, re­ sult evaluation and a conclusion about their findings. At the end of each project, the assigned groups of students must submit a report and present their work in front of their classmates. The students in Grade 9 conduct a school exhibition of the 7 projects. Feedback obtained from the questionnaires conducted to the students from Grade 1 to Grade 12 on the KUS botanical garden has been positive. The students found the working together part of the experience beneficial. The other benefits and skills gained are adaptation to working in a team, systematic way of working, planning, data researching, responsibility, self discipline, knowledge about nature, importance of plants and the necessities of conserving plant species for sustainable society. Key words: School botanical garden, Kasetsart University Laboratory School conservation that emphasize what not to do, and Introduction warn children of negative consequences of their Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sir­ action, can be stressful to children and will not indhorn initiated a project to conserve Thailand's benefit the country in the long run" plants. She emphasized that "In order to educate Princess Sirintorn has initiated the Plant Genetic and train children to be aware of plant conserva­ Conservation Project since 1992. She ran the pro­ tion, they should be taught to see and appreciate the ject herself. The project aims to make the partici­ beauty and interesting aspects of plants and the pants understand and realize the importance of happiness to be gained from studying and conserv­ plants so that the knowledge is available to all Thai ing plants. Conventional methods of teaching plant people. The project set up such activities as the Received: October 13, 2010, Accepted: December 7, 2010 * Corresponding author: Kasetsart University Laboratory School, Faculty of Education, Kasetsart University, 50 Ngamwongwan Rd, Chatuchak Bangkok 10900, Thailand. E-mail: 132 J. Dev. Sus. Agr. 6 (1) prevention of genetic plant, and the collection, project partly because it agrees with the school's de­ planting, conservation of genetic plants, a school velopmental philosophy of planting the green con­ botanical garden to make the schoolchildren aware cept to the students' heart. KUS has been a mem­ of the importance of conserving plants. The goal of ber of the project since 1995. Our goal is to teach the garden is to teach students to appreciate the the students to appreciate the value of plants, to value, benefits, and beauty of various species of love and nurture plants as part of the sustainable plants from an early age and to gradually instill in society. them an awareness of plant conservation. The bo­ Educational goals of the "Botanical Garden at tanical garden situated within the school allows KUS" are: both students and teachers an continuous access to 1. To enable students to conduct a surveyor re­ the plants and their products for teaching, learning, search on plants within or outside the school. and researching. 2. To teach students how to collect plant sam­ The aim of Her Royal Highness Princess Sir­ ples and preserve them for further studies. indhorn is that every organization participating in 3. To help students combine botanical knowl­ the project uses a botanical garden to help run the edge with that learned in other subjects. activities to raise students' awareness of plant con­ 4. To teach students to look after trees and servation. Since the garden activities are organized plants in school and in the community. on-site, within a school, college or university, the During the first half of the project plan of KUS limited space of the botanical garden can only serve botanical garden, the goal was to collect and plant as a standard model of the botanical garden that as many plant species as possible within the school. gathers as many living plant species as possible. A The choice of species was based not only on the library should be available in conjunction with the variety but also on the usefulness of plants of which botanical garden for the in-depth study of the bo­ some examples are medicinal herbs, bananas and tanical garden, as well as a collection of botanical palm trees. Plants were established in the gardens samples (dried and preserved) representing each with a variety of different themes, such as water plant species. To achieve the objectives of the Plant garden, friendship garden and plants from litera­ Genetic Conservation Project, her Royal Highness' ture. They provide organized teaching materials program arranges seminars to train and guide par­ for many subjects. The plants in each garden are ticipating teachers and other staff at schools and thoroughly studied and labeled for future reference universities. Schools currently participating in the by the students. The collection and location of project include kindergartens, elementary and high plants of each species are precisely marked and schools, technical colleges, and universities. recorded in the species registry books. The care and growth-monitoring for the trees in different Discussion areas in the school have been divided and allocated Kasetsart University Laboratory School, Center so students at different levels can come and look for Educational Research and Development (KUS) after them. Moreover, the teachers of all school was founded in the year 1971 and is affiliated to the subjects are encouraged to make use of the KUS Faculty of Education, Kasetsart University. KUS botanical garden. has been set up to focus on the study of educational A committee has been appointed to manage the knowledge and research on curriculum improve­ activities concerning the KUS botanical garden. ment. KUS educates students from grade 1 to The students make portfolios of systematically col­ grade 12 with 7 classes at each grade level. KUS is lected information as well as the analysis, discus­ situated at Kasetsart University's Bangkok campus, sion, and summary. The committee facilitates the occupying 48 rai of land (18.98 acres). The school data collection process and provides the materials area has been designed to optimize teaching. A required to complete their portfolios. part of the school area has been set aside for "the The KUS botanical garden committee provides a green". curriculum to suit the students' learning at each KUS values Her Royal Highness Princess Maha grade level. The teachers can use the curriculum Chakri Sirindhorn's "Botanical Garden in School" and apply it in their teaching for required skills Techakosit: School Botanical Garden 133 such as observing, researching, experimenting, data creased their fondness for trees. recording, interviewing, drawing, taking photographs, Students at KUS have founded and participated and sampling and collecting plant species. All these in the K US Botanical Garden Society to share their processes become part of the record in the collec­ common interests in plants, plant species, research, tion book of plant species of the KUS botanical and conservation. The Society members are clearly garden. aware of the relevant environmental issues in the Since 2004, the KUS botanical garden committee school, in the wider community, and in the country has made a plan for the students at all levels. Each as a whole. The Society has arranged many inter­ class is assigned one species to focus on (Table 1). esting activities, both within and outside the school, For the didactic and hands-on sessions, the class­ such as the following: room teacher can choose the following instruction 1. Botanical experts have given seminars to so­ to explain to the students. ciety members and interested students who 1. The classroom teacher introduces the assigned are encouraged to take part in the activities species to the students during the homeroom like plant drawing and collecting. period, or the Friday activity class, or in the 2. The Society has organized educational ac­ free time. The students will be divided into tivities for teachers, students, parents and groups based on their interest, ability or spe­ school personnel to broaden their botanical cialization. The students can also be assigned knowledge at several occasions, such as "In­ to take up relevant tasks such as drawing, dian Shoot and Father's day," "Jasmine and photographing, inventing and singing.