Bridgetown Barbados, 28 March 2025 (PAHO/WHO) - To empower young people and nurture more health-conscious and resilient citizens, CARICOM Youth Ambassador for Barbados Ashley Lashley launched Growing Tomorrow Harvest on Wednesday. The project will integrate sustainable gardening in three Barbadian schools.
It is supported by the Barbados Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security, and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) as part of the EU/CARIFORUM Strengthening Climate Resilient Health Systems in the Caribbean project.
Launched at the Grantley Adams Memorial School, this hands-on gardening project puts students at the centre of the fight against food insecurity, poor nutrition, and climate change. Ambassador Ashley Lashley explained that the initiative uses small, low-cost wick beds to teach students how to grow their own food, initially at three secondary schools: Grantley Adams, Parkinson Memorial and Alleyne schools.
While addressing students and teacher representatives from all three schools, PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries, Dr. Amalia Del Riego, praised the project’s potential to promote healthier lifestyles, climate-smart farming, and national food security. She said the project “demonstrates what is possible when education, health, agriculture, community, and development partners come together with purpose and vision.
“By integrating sustainable gardening into schools through reusable garden kits, interactive workshops, and hands-on gardening activities, this project creates an immersive and meaningful learning experience. This initiative also aligns seamlessly with the ongoing efforts of the Ministry of Health and PAHO to combat childhood obesity and improve school nutrition and physical activity,” Dr. Del Riego noted.
Ms Lashley explained that when she was tasked with creating a climate and health project in her role as CARICOM Youth Ambassador, she knew it had to be about food. “But not just in the abstract, not just about policy or slogans. It had to be something real, something that students could touch, build, and take pride in. That’s how the Growing Tomorrow Harvest Project was born. I called up a young agriculturist, Zachary Moore, and we just started bouncing ideas. We landed on something practical, simple, and effective: the 5-gallon wick bed - small self-watering garden systems. They use less water, require minimal space, and can be made from recycled materials like reused buckets. You can grow vegetables right on a balcony, in a school courtyard, or even outside your front door. They’re low-maintenance but high-impact. That’s the beauty of them ... they meet people where they are at,” she asserted, before demonstrating with Mr. Moore just how easy it was.
Over six weeks, students will design, install, and maintain their beds, learn about sustainability, food security and garden maintenance. They will also manage watering schedules, monitor plant growth, personalize their buckets with climate messages, and integrate these little gardens into school life. After six months, there will be check-in visits to ensure sustainability, she added, making sure this isn’t just a school project, but the seed of something bigger.
The project is in line with Barbados’ wider goals under the CARICOM 25 by 2025 (now 2030) agenda to reduce food imports and improve youth engagement in agriculture. Also speaking at the launch were CARICOM Ambassador, David Commissiong and Agricultural Officer Tony Rawlins. The event also saw the handover of agricultural supplies, including garden kits and wick beds, to the school representatives.
