This past June a new and exciting phase of the project was launched and students welcomed the first baby chicks on campus. We had a spacious and cozy coop built for them and they play an important role in supporting our composting program. Chickens consume the garden weeds we don't want to put into the compost and they mix the compost piles while they scratch and search for food scraps. Straw and manure collected from the chicken coop are added to our compost piles, providing a great source of nitrogen and carbon. And this is not all -- happy chickens give us delicious eggs that students-caretakers are free to take home.
To make our feathered friends a true part of our school community, we gave them names. The big chicken family, Ziggy, Fluffy, Cheekah, Petunia, Doge, Fuzz and Mama Hen with 15 little chicks are quite lucky because the elementary classes take turns to care for them. Students ensure that the chickens have enough food and fresh water and that the coop is clean and tidy and all eggs are collected.
It seems that not it’s not only the chickens that are happy with this arrangement. Students are delighted with the opportunity, too.
"I was really excited to pet a chicken,” said kindergartener Rowan. His classmate Nieve added, “The chickens were soft and cute”.
The continuous success and growth of our gardening project is very rewarding for everyone. We hope that our story will inspire other schools to launch similar initiatives. We can assure you that gardening is not only a source of learning, but also great fun. Good luck!
Svetla Stoyanova
Communications & Marketing Specialist
The Anglo-American School of Sofia
