Thanksgiving Day Organic Farm Activity

Thanksgiving Day Organic Farm Activity in Pudong Foreign Language Middle School

November 24^th 2011 is a western tradition holiday called Thanksgiving Day. On this warm-hearted holiday, four employees from Shanghai Givaudan Company came to Shanghai Pudong Foreign Language Middle School to and had Thanksgiving Day activities at the organic farm with some of the school’s students.

At 4:10 p.m., three workers of R&S, two volunteers, and four employees of Givaudan came to Shanghai Pudong Foreign Language Middle School; we came ten minutes before the activities officially began. We first had an earthworm farm experiment in the class. Workers from R&S Organic Farm Project personally got involved in the activity: they prepared a presentation for the students to carefully explain how to work on earthworm compost using the earthworms and prepared materials. The students really enjoyed participating in the experiment with R&S and Givaudan employees. They also actively asked questions to the employees, and the classroom gradually became bustling with the excitement. Soon after, the first organic farm activity in Shanghai Pudong Foreign Language Middle School concluded successfully.

What more, the students and employees of Givaudan also went to the school’s organic farm for the harvesting. Due to the students hard work throughout the semester, the crops in the farm grew to look completely different from when they started. Then, it came time for the cabbages and Cherry Radishes to be harvested. The students and employees of Givaudan wore gloves, stepped in to the field, then pulled the radishes and harvested the cabbages. They all had a good time; the air was filled with the laughter. The students already experienced with harvesting provided us with professional advice on our method of harvest. Not long after, all of the cabbages and radishes were out of the ground. In the end, many of the students and employees truly gained new knowledge about harvesting, and also gained some happiness through participating in this activity.

At the end of the day, to fit in with the message of Thanksgiving Day, the students gave the harvest of the day to the employees of Givaudan as a gift. It was delightful for the employees to taste the freshest and most organic vegetable. Besides this, the students also prepared a gift of fresh fruit tied with beautiful silk on which the students wrote words of appreciation. This was given to the volunteers, and employees from Givaudan and R&S. This brief yet sweet gifting ceremony brought an end to the activity.

In the light of the late autumn sunset, the Pudong Foreign Language Middle School’s organic farm Thanksgiving activities came to an end. In addition to the harvested vegetables, everyone also harvested new feelings in their hearts, and in the cool dusk we were all warmed by our new thoughts and ideas.

(Translated by WFLMS Crunchy Zoo Language Club)