Going to school will never be the same again for five-year-old Reiyah Gibson.  When the kindergartener eagerly hops out of her parents' car, it's with all the fun thoughts of reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic she will engage in during the school day, but before she gets to the issue of formal education, there's another bit of "school stuff" she has to take care of -- and that's tending to her vegetable plants in the school garden.

The St. Cecilia's Catholic School student is one of 24 students that are members of the school's garden club which has a mandate to one day be able to grow enough vegetables, fruits and herbs to be able to supply the school's cafeteria, and sell to parents and residents in the surrounding neighborhood.  

Currently, little Reiyah and her fellow gardeners are successfully growing cabbage, bok choy (Chinese cabbage), tomatoes and basil in their 13-foot by four-foot plot of land that is located on the western side of the school.  The garden, in which there is a little greenhouse as well is fenced in to protect the students' efforts from predators -- of the animal and human persuasion.

"I really like plants and it's fun to grow stuff," says Reiyah as to why she joined the club. "I eat vegetables and I want to eat them [cabbages and tomatoes] I planted."
Reiyah doesn't have a garden at home, but says her involvement in the garden club makes her happy because she has fun growing the plants she likes.

The garden club isn't new to the school.  It was started four years ago to promote health and wellness, and give the students the tools they would need to start their own sustainable gardens through the system known as "Project Grow," a school garden project which helps students and teachers learn the principles of gardening through the development of sustainable school gardens, providing an out-of-the box approach to nutritional learning.

The goals of the program are to educate kids about food, and improve eating habits and the health of school-aged children.  The gardening experience itself brings health benefits like exercise, time spent outdoors in the fresh air, and a sense of well-being.  It also offers a new and exciting way to address nutrition.

While Reiyah is new to the garden club, previous students have enjoyed eggplant, cabbage, bok choy, tomatoes and the basil they had grown.  She is looking forward to the day she gets her first taste of the fruits of her labor.

The little "environmentalist" and her fellow club members recently received a boost to their cause when Generali Worldwide Insurance, through its partners, h.o.m.e.grown, donated hundreds of vegetable seedlings to the school's garden club in the second year of their "Be Active & Eat Smart" program.  

"Be Active & Eat Smart" is a children's fitness and healthy eating program initially developed by Generali Worldwide during 2005-2006 in cooperation with students, teachers, parents, community leaders and health professionals in the Cayman Islands.  The goal of the program is to educate primary aged kids about healthy behaviors through educational and experiential activities in school to help them develop healthy habits that last a lifetime.

Aysha Ferguson, an eight-year-old third grader is also new to the club.  She joined because she thought it would be fun. "I learned that it is good to plant things because if you learn how to do it now you can plant anything later.  I have planted some tomatoes in the garden so far and I can not wait until they are grown so I can eat them," she says.

Planting vegetables and flowers at home encouraged 10-year-old fifth grader Tyler Kellerman to do the same at school. "

"It's important for us to learn about gardening because it's better to eat what you grow and it saves money," says Kellerman.  "I hope to see my plants grow a lot so we can eat them and use them at school.  It would be healthier and it's a lot of fun. I would encourage other people to do the same.  And I like to garden because it is fun and I can learn so much."

When you walk onto St. Cecilia's school grounds in the heart of the Coconut Grove community, you can't help but notice the difference about the institution -- whether it's the growing garden space or the healthy living posters plastered everywhere.  Health and wellness permeate the air.

After four years of establishment, the school's garden club which was struggling for years was given the boost it needed when Generali Worldwide, the company that sponsored the healthy face-lift at the school last year with their ongoing "Be Active & Eat Smart" initiative, upped the ante this time around with the introduction of "Project Grow," in hopes of encouraging the students to take their health a step further by promoting a gardening project to make participants more health conscious and agricultural savvy.

Being healthy is more than just instructing students on the fundamentals for the  teachers and administrators at the school who encourage students to be active in the learning and strive for environmental positivity by promoting different projects.
Art teacher and garden club supervisor Candice Gibson, is excited that her initial plan in starting her students off in developing a love for gardening has blossomed into a holistic approach to health and wellness, supported by Generali Worldwide.

"Because of the continuous donations to our garden club's initiatives we don't have to struggle so much to get things off the ground," said Gibson.  "Previously the club had to do fundraisers and bake sales to get more equipment and supplies.  But Generali Worldwide has provided us with things like soil and seedlings, assisted us in plotting our garden and putting up a little greenhouse -- things we wouldn't have been able to do on our own right now.

"We are really grateful, and it encourages the kids to want to do more.  With their continuous help in replenishing our needs we hope to eventually expand the garden beyond its 13-foot by four- foot size and grow more things in each season like pumpkins, eggplants and even have a small banana tree field.  We have lots of plans and the kids are at the heart of it."

The "Be Active & Eat Smart," campaign which provided the school with paraphernalia and posters to post around the school and sponsored a monthly exercise program to promote easy and fun exercise tips to get the students active last year is one St. Cecilia's School principal, Tiffany Glass is ecstatic about.
She loves the transformation the school has made and the healthy mindset the kids are being encouraged subconsciously to have every day at school.  She is most impressed with the work Generali Worldwide is continuing to do by debuting the "Project Grow" initiative at the school as it makes ideas the garden club has had more possible.

"Being a school that struggles with funding for things like these we are pleased that an outside party has taken an interest in assisting us and promoting such a strong and positive message.  We are happy for their support and the continued help and educational value they provide for our students with their different projects," said Glass.  "This is not just about a one-time donation, but an ongoing plan that really encourages a greater appreciation for health and learning from an early age to be sustainable and taking care of the environment.  I am really happy for what they are doing."

Getting children involved in the "Be Active & Eat Smart" initiative was a social responsibility project Generali Worldwide launched five years ago in their branch in the Cayman Islands and in the last two years introduced as a pilot program at St. Cecilia's.

"Our focus is better health ... better health for our partners, better health for our members and certainly better health for the nations in which we reside," said Generali Worldwide regional director, Tina Cambridge.

"As The Bahamas operation serves as the regional centre for Generali Worldwide in the Caribbean region, we are very pleased to introduce the "Be Active & Eat Smart" program to The Bahamas.  This program has been developed as the premier social responsibility initiative for our company for this region and has been largely successful for us in the Cayman Islands.  Our pilot program in The Bahamas launched with the [last] school year, and we are very excited to watch this gain momentum.

With the success the company found in the Caymans in being able to affect 22 schools, Cambridge anticipates an equal level of success when the program spreads to two more schools before the end of the 2011-12 school year, and eventually make its debut in the Family Islands in a few years.

"It is important to get students to understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle because they will be the citizens of tomorrow and if nations want to have the best residents they should be training them now," she says.

Cambridge says it's her company's aim to get all students, from the senior level though kindergarten age to be involved in being healthy and active. She says they chose St. Cecilia's school as the pilot school for the program because they wanted to impact an inner-city school whose administration was healthy minded as well.

"We understand that being healthy is not just about a fun assembly promoting it, but about teachers who feel it is also important and encourages healthy living on many levels in and out of the classroom.  It is something we want the kids to always be thinking about so they can go home and encourage their families to live better too, so these habits become a lifestyle more and more each day."
 
STATISTICS ON CHILDREN'S HEALTH

o About 22 million children under the age of five are estimated to be overweight worldwide.
o The life expectancy of those who develop diabetes is projected to be 13 years less than the national average
o Obesity accounts for 2-6 percent of total health care costs in several developed countries.  Some estimates put the figure as high as seven percent.
o  Obesity in the Caribbean has increased at an alarming rate, over the past few decades.  This rate has surpassed that of the United States
o It is critical to prevent obesity and overweight and promote healthy lifestyle choices in childhood before chronic health problems arise.  Increased risks of premature death, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and many other health problems
o Several studies have found positive academic and other gains from implementing policies and practices that promote physical activity and nutrition. Researchers are continually finding that students who are healthy and physically active are more likely to be motivated, attentive, and successful academically.
Source: Genearli Worldwide Insurance

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