Ajman's Garden Competition

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March 2002

It has always upset me to throw away vegetable peels, tea bags, eggshells and other ‘compostable’ matter from my kitchen. If I had a garden, I would definitely be converting all these into rich organic nutrition. But I have a balcony with many potted plants so there is only so much I can use. I am told I can blend vegetable scraps and keep the paste in compost ‘pots’ instead of pits. But I am not quite convinced. After all, I would be using up that much extra energy (in blending) and water (cleaning blender) on a regular basis.

However, of late I have started doing something I am happy with. On days that I make a meal out of vegetable juice, I keep the pulp residue aside on a tray in the sun for a few days; and then apply this to the soil in flowerpots. My plants seem to have really perked up since I’ve started doing this! Earlier, for one reason or the other, they had been drooping. Even the supposedly hardy bougainvillea hadn’t been flowering. Now they are a riot of colour. I’d like to believe it is the vegetable - based compost that has helped them bloom.
There is a garden competition underway in Ajman. So, what’s the big deal you might think? Nothing unusual about garden competitions!

It is, indeed, a big deal. Look at how points will be allocated to competitors: 40 per cent towards environmentally – sound garden management systems adopted: planting native trees; employing water – efficient irrigation techniques; applying organic fertilisers; and using, if at all required, biological pest control. And, yes, landscaping to be as ‘natural’ as possible.

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Another 40 per cent points towards cleanliness: is an area, at least five metres around the house, clean and neat? Are boundary walls, fencing, doors, balconies…the same? And is the competing household disposing garbage in a refuse bag and placing it in the bin provided outside the house? The remaining 20 per cent points are for how pretty the garden looks; in other words, its cosmetic appeal.

It doesn’t take long to comprehend that this isn’t just any ordinary competition. It is one with far- reaching ecological and societal benefits.

Ajman’s garden competition is a project under the environment programme of Humaid Bin Rashid Al-Nuaimi Foundation for Human Development, a non – profit, development foundation established in 2000 by Emiri Decree, and presided over by Sheikha Fatima Bint Zayed Bin Saqer Al Nahyyan, wife of the Ruler of Ajman. Apart from environment, the Foundation targets other sectors such as women and the family, children and youth, and human development.

There are two ongoing progammes in the environment sector – ‘greenery’ (of which the garden competition is a part) and

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‘clean up’ that spills over into the first, but essentially focuses on solid waste management (reduce, reuse, recycle, and rethink: the four ‘Rs’). ‘Clean up’ utilises a step-by-step approach – get people to dispose waste neatly and, later, address household groups individually and collectively to get them to sort their waste for recycling.

Earthsense meets Eidah Mutlaq, advisor to the Foundation and Jamila Al-Naimi, public relations coordinator, who is responsible for the garden project, “because,” says Mutlaq, “it requires a lot of PR work. In all projects we emphasise the participatory approach, highlighting what we expect people to contribute. We try to build an alliance with the public, and prefer to postpone a project if the community participation element is weak.”

The garden competition’s logo, ‘Together for a Beautiful Ajman,” expresses this approach. Since only gardens outside buildings may compete, the project envisages greening, beautification and clean up of the emirate by the people themselves. Support from the Foundation and its partners (the municipality and other organisations) for participants is in the supply of palm saplings, seedlings of native plants (jujube, ghaf, tamarisk, the Arabian toothbrush, samur to mention a few) sacks of organic fertilser, soil (if needed), garbage containers, refuse sacks and, of course, any advice on queries related to greening.

“Water saving systems are a must,” stresses Al-Naimi, specifying that these must be by drip, sprinkler or bubbler irrigation systems.

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Chemical fertilizers are out; only green waste or manure is to be applied. And neem based pesticides are recommended along with other biological pest control methods.

The number of competitors exceeds 200 right now, but it is “growing as word spreads. We are targeting at least 500,”says Al-Naimi. The garden competition will conclude some time in 2002 with prizes of Dh 50, 000, 30,000 and 20, 000 for the first three winners and another 10 of Dh. 5000 each. Earthsense visits the Ajman Kempinski Hotel and Resort that is participating in the competition with its beachside garden planted with indigenous species such as palms, enriched by compost from a green waste pit, watered via drip and sprinkler systems, and landscaped ‘naturally’. If this is indicative of what the Ajman wayside will look like in course of time, we sure have plenty of verdure to look forward to; and, importantly, the ecological way.

WHAT ON EARTH CAN WE DO?

Save water. A good place to start is at home.

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