Criteria

… for obtaining the School Eco-Garden label within the School Eco-Gardens programme

All schools and kindergartens (i.e. members of the School Eco-Gardens Network) that give children contact with a living organic school garden and meet the established criteria are awarded the “School Eco-Garden” label.
In this way schools and kindergartens communicate their mission and their efforts to parents, to the local community and beyond.
Together we are working to see our kindergarten and school eco-gardens valued and recognised!

Apply for the ŠEV label

The ŠEV label may be applied for by educational institutions – members of the School Eco-Gardens Network – that have been part of the programme for at least one full school year and that attend at least one training course within the School Eco-Gardens programme every school year. The garden itself must have been tended for at least one year, that is, through all four seasons.

The form for a first application and the form for renewal, which holders complete every three years, can be found below:

Form for a FIRST application for the ŠEV label

Form for RENEWAL of the ŠEV label (renewed every three years)

How is the label obtained?

  1. The mentor of the kindergarten or school eco-garden at a member institution of the ŠEV Network fills in the criteria form that must be satisfied to obtain the label, and sends it to the School Eco-Gardens Association by e-mail to solski.ekovrt@dsev.si (preferably as a .pdf).
  2. The ŠEV Association reviews the forms it receives. If an application is incomplete, the Association invites the applicant to complete it.
  3. If all the criteria are satisfactorily met, the Association awards the ŠEV label (a certificate of honour) at the annual gathering, the national seminar for eco-garden mentors. The recipient also gives a short presentation at the ceremony.
  4. The certificate is countersigned by the head of the school or kindergarten. The school or kindergarten may then use the label in accordance with the rules.
  5. The ŠEV Association sends the recipient a simple set of rules for using the label.
  6. The certificate and the right to use the label are valid for three school years. The procedure is then repeated.
  7. Obtaining the School Eco-Garden label costs a member institution of the ŠEV Network nothing; the only condition is that the ŠEV Network membership fee for the current school year has been paid.

The label is valid only if you are a member of the School Eco-Gardens programme throughout its period of validity, i.e. for three school years. Otherwise the label is INVALID!

Is it demanding?

Don't let the procedure or the criteria put you off. An eco-garden is built step by step, and we can help you with every one of them. Go for it!

The standing of the label rests on the criteria we observe in a school eco-garden:

  • Composting: we collect organic waste and compost it properly, and use the compost to feed the garden plants.
  • We use organic seed, or chemically untreated seed where organic seed is not available.
  • We have a basic crop rotation plan and we follow it when growing plants.
  • We feed plants with organic fertilisers: compost, green manure crops, composted manure and the like; we have a basic plan for supplying plants with nutrients.
  • We manage water sustainably: we use it carefully, collect rainwater for use in the garden wherever possible and, where feasible, clean it with the help of plants.
  • We use no synthetic chemical pesticides in the garden.
  • We use no synthetic chemical mineral fertilisers in the garden.
  • We separate not only organic waste but all other waste as well.

Proud recipients of the label in the 2018/2019 school year (19 recipients).

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