Growetry – Cultivating Creativity

17.10.202517.10.2025

Cultivating Creativity: Gardening and Poetry in Kampala Schools

Seed Programs International (SPI) partnered with Sustainable Community Initiative for Empowerment (SCINE) and Poetry X Hunger to support a unique school gardening and poetry initiative in Kampala, Uganda.

Building on our earlier partnerships that established eight school gardens, this phase of the program encouraged students from each school’s Urban Farmers Club to create poems inspired by their gardens. Through themes of growing food, reducing hunger, and caring for the earth, students reflected on their experiences with agriculture in creative ways. Each school received a small grant to support teachers in organizing the poetry activities and maintaining the gardens as vibrant learning spaces.

Through this program, students gained hands-on agricultural education that promotes food security and improved nutrition. By weaving poetry into their gardening experience, children not only explored their creativity but also deepened their understanding of the importance of farming and community resilience. This approach connected practical skills with artistic expression, helping students strengthen both literacy and their connection to local food systems.

The students all did an incredible job, filling their poems and performances with imagination, heart, and hope. Their recitations were recorded in their school gardens, capturing the connection between their words and the spaces they tend. After careful consideration, first and second place winners were selected and awarded scholastic materials to support their continued academic growth.

Below, you’ll find videos and the text of each poem submission, beginning with the first-place and runner-up winners. The remaining poems are listed in no particular order. Be sure to scroll to the end for photos from the student presentation ceremony, where joy and pride were in full bloom!

We believe that seeds can grow more than just food—they can grow opportunity, creativity, and community. Programs like this one in Kampala show how gardening can nourish both the body and the mind, empowering young people to envision a future free from hunger and full of possibility.

First Place: Presbyterian Junior School

In concrete jungles green hearts beat,

in vacant lots where weeds once reigned

sukuma bursts with defiant green. a rebel garden, fierce, serene.

crimson tomatoes swollen with sun.

their out wild look stitching dreams to forgotten lots.

claw through earth where shadow run.

life sprouts fierce in forgotten lots.

hands dig deep, roots develop

burst from loamy beds, defying the haze.

from weathered rocks, hope for harvest grows

urban farms where communities sow and dreams emerge!

Second Place: Golden Times Primary School

In the silence of the break of the day,

empty plates lie in dismay. children cry with no word to say.

as hunger slowly steal their play. no grains of rice, no bed to lay. hope fades like the light of

many mothers kneel down low to pray. wishing just for one good tray. telling tales of lost

buffet stomach echo in a painful ballet in a land where crops no longer stay.

In cities where cars go fast,

we found a way to make food last. We took some seed and made a bed with soil, water and

tools we spread. we planted greens like beans and peas, tomatoes climbing near the trees.

on rooftops high and streets below, we made small gardens and started to grow.

Look at that that pupil! i mean, that sad one always left at home.

never given a plate.

denied a chance like we. and the stomach left without something to eat.

in future see no. seem very hopeless is this really fair? it’s our duty!

with every leaf and root we grow.

we help more hungry people know that even in a place not so wide.

good food can grow right by your side.

so plant a seed and take good care and so you will get some food to share.

a little garden fresh and small can help bring food and hope to all!

Katwe Central Primary School

In the city, a garden grows X2

fresh veggies and fruits, for everyone to know.

health and bright, giving us energy too.

helping our bodies and our hearts are new

people work together, side by side.

planting and watering, with love and pride.

even on the veranda, yes you can. making their community a happier place. sharing fresh

food with a smiling face.

on a small scale, a lot is got

helping us how, to feel complete.

let’s keep planting and watch things grow.

urban gardening, which nourishes us well.

nourishing our world, with love and light!

Kanyanya Church of Uganda Primary School

At Kanyanya church of Uganda Primary School,

veggies grow and children know.

they plant and water, watch them rise, green and fresh beneath the skies!

let’s dig the soil and plant a seed.

healthy food is what we need.

we work together, hand in hand,

to grow good food upon this land!

tomatoes, greens and beans so sweet, healthy veggies we love to eat!

from morning light to evening’s end.

Lets dig the soil and plant a seed.

We work together hand in hand to grow good food upon this land

in Kampala, green and wide, we make the city full of pride.

urban farming is the way to build a brighter, better day!

St. Benedict Nursery and Primary School

Dear World X2

the practice of cultivating crops, livestock, and types of food in an urban environment is what

we call the urban agriculture of farming. the method is clean, easy to maintain, and highly

efficient, using 96% less water than traditional farming methods.

urban farming plays big roles in our cities, providing access to health, local food, local food,

green space that benefits both body and mind, reducing carbon footprint of the food system,

minimizes fuel consumption, minimizes fuel consumption.

what are the techniques of urban cultivation? Wonderful, hydroponic, aquaponics, rooftop

gardening and vertical farming to reduce space and resources.

what are the top benefits of urban farming? Thank you for that question. It enhances

resilience in cities in the faces of challenges such as climate change…. healthy well-being,

access to fresh nutritious food and healthy diet. Economic opportunities it creates jobs in

farming and food production. Environmental protection improves food security.

what are the way forward for urban farming? Wooow, choose right space, select crops

wisely, use sustainable practise, conserve water during growing phases and engage communities.

Dear one, dear one

Let us practice urban farming.

Mothercare Primary School

Good morning, our viewers!

my name is Ainebyona Lydia.

I am in primary two.

my school is Makindye Mothercare Primary School

I am going to tell you about our garden.

our garden has many plants, for example, spring onions, sukuma wiki, green peppers,

eggplants, doodo, and pawpaw.

plant give us food and medicine.

thank you, Growetry, for this beautiful project.

it has empowered and educated people.

people also get money from this project.

thank you!

Little Vines Nursery and Primary School

Fellow Ugandans and the world at large

Cry for the lost beauty,

of our motherland, the pearl of Africa,

As named, it’s beautiful scenery,

It is no more.

investors, lumberjacks, and farmers,

have degraded our environment,

flora and fauna

will soon become a mystery.

Fellow Ugandans and

fellow Ugandans and the world at large,

Rise up now,

And say no to deforestation and swamp damage

Conserve the environment,

Just in case you need to cut a tree, plant two!

Kibuye Church of Uganda Primary School

oh my! What a great pressure of practicing grow in our school.

grow grow is a good practice,

you can do it in every small space.

grow in the compound, grow at the veranda- all is grow.

oh! Grow is a beauty, you cannot have hunger at school, in the community, and globally.

oh! what is the work of grow?

it is simple and clear to fight hunger,

the whole world will eat enough by protecting the growth.

Hooray…. hooray… the saviour has come,

Who is that? that is grow!

We shall never get hunger because of abundance of enough food and vegetables, grow is in

wooden boxes, car tyres and sacks.

long live grow. The purpose is to fight hunger at school, in communities and globally.

Award Ceremony: Presbyterian Junior School

Award Ceremony: Golden Times Primary School

Thank You for Supporting this Work!

Learn Ways to Get Involved Here: https://seedprograms.org/ways-to-support-spi/

Learn Way to Donate to Support our Programs Here: https://seedprograms.org/ways-to-donate/

Donate Here: https://seedprograms.org/donate-now/