The Woolworths Trust EduPlant programme has announced the finalist schools for the 2005 competition. They’ve spent the past nine months planning, designing, planting, growing and reaping food from their permaculture food gardens – now, 63 top schools will soon be on their way to Johannesburg to present their impressive projects at the Woolworths Trust EduPlant Finals. “This year we have seen many schools working very hard and producing lots of food,” comments Joe Matimba, a permaculture facilitator at Food & Trees For Africa. “Many new schools have started up food gardens and established schools have expanded their community outreach projects. EduPlant is like a web of food-growing which is spread throughout the country.” Permaculture experts and facilitators visited the 381 schools that entered the 2005 Woolworths Trust EduPlant competition and nominated 63 of these projects as outstanding. The finalists get to participate in an action-packed three day event held at the end of September. They will present their projects to a panel of judges and have the opportunity to network and learn more about each other’s projects. 18 schools will be awarded places as the emerging, intermediate, and advanced and provincial winners of the 2005 competition. Woolworths Trust EduPlant in association with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Landcare SA and SABC Education, is the leading schools food gardening and greening programme that promotes and supports schools in the growing of food in a sustainable, natural way. Over the past 10 years, EduPlant has helped thousands of schools to enhance food security in their communities and to improve the nutrition of their learners. Improving food security in impoverished communities is at the core of Woolworths Trust EduPlant. It is aligned with the aims of the government's national school nutrition programme, and is widely recognised as a successful partnership of businesses, NGO's and government making a valuable difference by helping to eradicate poverty in our country.

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The Woolworths Trust EduPlant programme has announced the finalist schools for the 2005 competition.