While some resort to social media to complain about the annihilation of vegetation and climate change, Luqa primary schoolchildren have rolled up their sleeves and added a touch of green to their walls.

Using recycled material, organic soil substitute and a water-conserving irrigation system, they have set up a vertical wall garden to grow fresh herbs and lettuce.

The students made use of an abandoned area in their school but the vertical garden can easily be replicated by anyone at their home, especially considering the limited outdoor space available in apartments. 

At the beginning of this scholastic year, students from the St Ignatius College Luqa Primary EkoSkola team, together with the We Eat Responsibly coordinator Cynthia Caruana, came up with the idea of the garden based on the principles of hydroponics – the science of growing plants without soil.

The project kicked off with 10 cargo pallets that would have otherwise been thrown away

With funds and support provided by the We Eat Responsibly project, HSBC water programme, Nature Trust, the Luqa local council and Wasteserv, the project started coming to life at the beginning of the year.

One of the people who helped guide the students, agronomist Charles Zahra, told The Sunday Times of Malta that the project kicked off with 10 cargo pallets that would have otherwise been thrown away.

A circulating irrigation system was installed so as to prevent wasting water – in fact, some 90 per cent of the water is collected and used to re-water the plants.

Vertical wall garden at the Luqa Primary School. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Such systems are on the rise in several countries, especially urbanised areas, with the benefits including landscaping your own living quarters, purifying the air in your living space and having a fresh supply of herbs and vegetables at hand.

At the Luqa school, the students are growing sage, curry, lemon thyme, rosemary, mint, basil and lettuce, but the system can also be used to grow other salad crops, such as tomatoes, pepper and aubergines among others, Mr Zahra noted.

If people are not so keen on hanging the pallets on their yard or terrace walls, the system can be adapted and the pallets installed horizontally.

A step-by-step guide

1. The pallets need to first be reinforced with wood from other pallets, and then treated with linseed oil.

2. Fitted with a weed mat so as to ensure that the substrate does not fall out, the pallets are then attached to the wall with custom made brackets.

3. The pallets are filled with substrate, made up of a mix including coco and other peat, sawdust, seaweed and perlite.

4. A circulating irrigation system ensures they are watered every hour. Some 90 per cent of the water used for irrigation is collected as it leaks from the pallets, so as to save water.

5. The lettuce grew considerably in a few days. Photos: Assistant head of school Stefano Farrugia