Under the leadership of Madeleine Proud, Director of Global Citizenship, Nexus International School Kuala Lumpur (Nexus) collaborated with World Garden Schools (WGS) to bring to fruition several successful projects. This partnership came about because of the alignment of WGS and Nexus’ Sustainable Development Goals, hopes for the future, and heart-led, effective curriculum for learners.

Photo: Madeleine Proud and Dr. Jacqueline Koay, founder of World Garden School and Cheese Plant Books.

The WGS-Nexus KL collaboration was launched on Nexus’s Global Goals Day 2023 with a virtual session with Dr. Jacqueline Koay, founder of World Garden Schools and Cheese Plant Books, in her capacity as Bank of England Schools Ambassador and co-chair of the Bank of England Ethnic Minorities (BEEM) network. Dr. Koay introduced the functions that the UK’s central bank performs, opportunities that the Bank have for students under its internship schemes, and the importance of Culture, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (CDE&I) to Nexus learners.

One of WGS key partners in Asia, Rita Othman and her daughter Almas Abdul Kadir, travelled from the foothills of Borneo to Kuala Lumpur to deliver workshops supporting the WGS syllabus (for syllabus description, click here).

The Nexus learners learned about indigenous plants first-hand from the mother-and-daughter team as well as had a hands-on experience growing these plants.

This foundation is built on with ongoing collaborations between WGS and Nexus, with WGS donating a cheese plant and baby cacti to Nexus’s Forest Garden, and supporting learning materials for younger learners:

Cheese plant page and stories – click here

Cactus page and worksheet – click here

The Nexus gardens that WGS will continue to support the development of:

The WGS curriculum that Nexus has implemented to date:

World Garden Schools Activities – see how they come to life! (click on the link to access Nexus’ teaching slide decks)

World Garden Schools’ Curriculum	Nexus’ Project
Growing Garlic – Learning about Agricultural Economy (World)	AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY 1. Eco Club’s Garlic Growing Venture 2. Indigenous plants from Borneo workshop slides
Before You Go on Holiday	SELF WATERING SYSTEM 1. Instruction sheet 2. Slide deck 3. Photographs

At WGS, we design our curriculum and lesson plans so that they provide learners with opportunities to design solutions for real-world problems whilst learning about a new approach to Economics, namely one that is centred around People Care, Planet Care, Fairer Share, that is inline with the United Nations’ Global Sustainable Development Goals.

In the Growing Garlic lesson, learners learned about the agricultural economy. We strongly believe that it is important for the learners of today to learn about profitability, business models and commerce from a heart-led perspective for the good of future generations. In the self-water plant system, learners are empowered to find solutions for everyday problems with repurposed household items (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) as well as kindness to living beings.

For Senior Learners

Sixth formers from Nexus worked with Cheese Plant Books to produce a university guide for students who are planning to go abroad for further studies. The project, led by Tanish Tanjil and Maria Chan of Nexus, recruited students from other local schools to the editorial, design, marketing and finance teams. This project provided a wonderful experience for all involved to learn about business in the real world and how a venture with Culture, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at its heart can be as successful as a profit-driven one.

The first edition of the book, Asian Kid Abroad, sold out within a month of launch, with 100% of the profit going to a local charity, PAWS Malaysia. In addition, the book provided income for two freelancers as well as supported a small local business. To find out more about the book and its ethos, click here.

And at an International Women’s Day Event 2024 selling the book:

At the time of writing, the team is working on the second edition, with online seminars planned as well as collaborations with other schools. For more information and to order this book, please email bigcheese@cheeseplantbooks.com.

At the heart of what we do

Developing young people’s mental resilience, cultivating self-regulation and teaching kindness is at the heart of what we do. World Garden Schools/Cheese Plant Books’ heartwarming story about an autistic boy and a cheese plant (Roald and the Mindful Cheese Plant) was the book we used to introduce young learners to these valuable lessons.

This learning is reinforced with an actual cheese plant we have growing in our Forest Garden, linking important concepts with caring for the planet and connecting with other communities in the world: https://worldgardenschools.org/ellen-bella-cheese/

“Nexus is delighted to take the lead in putting into practice this important and critical development in international thinking, and equipping our learners to take their place in a changed world as responsible and empowered citizens. We have plans to collaborate with other schools in the region (Singapore and Thailand) to build a truly international community, united in our collective endeavours to create a more equitable future for all, including the planet.”

Madeleine Proud, Director of Global Citizenship, Nexus International School

About Nexus International School Kuala Lumpur: https://www.nexus.edu.my