Life could have been hard after the earthquake, but thanks to melons and fruit, vitality returned to the school. Now each day is full of wonder.

"This sponge gourd is already ripe. If we don't pick it soon, it'll be too dry to eat. Then it can only be dried and used for a sponge."

Such was the exuberant scene on the first day of the new school year at Chunghsing Middle School in Nantou City. Students couldn't wait to return after the long summer break. The moment they set foot on campus, everyone dashed to check on the growth of the plants. Each new discovery created excitement and more exclamations.

Sponge gourds, passion fruit, squashes and chayotes seemed to be engaged in a climbing contest to see which would be the first to reach the roof of the new prefabricated classrooms. Thanks to the melons and fruit, the originally lifeless prefabricated classrooms made of cold steel sheets are now like a park full of laughter. In the hot summer, climbing plants cooled the air and filled the lives of students and teachers with joy.

Planting melons and fruit

On September 21 of last year, the devastating earthquake that hit Taiwan smashed Chunghsing Middle School to rubble. To ensure that the students had a sheltered place to study, the Tzu Chi Foundation built them prefabricated classrooms, which were completed in December of last year. Since the classrooms were built with heat conductive steel sheets, teachers feared that the arrival of summer would turn the classrooms into ovens. They tried to think up countermeasures: installing air-conditioners and fans was one way, but there was no budget; covering the roof with sun-blocking black netting was another possibility, but it would also block sufficient sunlight from entering the classrooms...

While the teachers were brainstorming, trying to come up with a viable method, biology teacher Huang Su-mi suggested they grow climbing plants which could climb along the eaves and onto the roof. Such cheap, decorative and practical greenery could absorb the heat.

The following day, Ms. Huang brought pumpkin, sponge gourd and passion fruit seeds to school. Principal Li Feng-chang, who came from a farming family, also supplied chayote. When the news spread to the students' parents, hundreds of passion fruit seedlings were delivered to the school. Teachers planted these seeds and seedlings in garden pots or in flower beds next to the classrooms. Each class took turns applying fertilizer, watering and tending these young green lives.

Little green thumbs

Although some of the students came from farming families, they had little chance to lay their hands on plants. Ninth-grader Liao Kao-yen said, "The only time I ever planted anything was in science class in elementary school. Everyone had to grow green beans for a class assignment. So when the teacher handed me twenty sponge gourd seeds to take home to grow seedlings, I was very nervous and full of anticipation. I watered them every day and kept my fingers crossed, hoping they would sprout soon."

Lai Hsiang-shan's father was from a farming family, and he gave her much useful advice. "My father taught me that growing sponge gourds is like growing green beans. You have to put the seeds on a wet cotton pad. After they sprout, then transplant them into soil. I did as he said, and most of my twenty seedlings are growing nicely." These sprouts became the family treasures. "Every time I forgot to water the plants, my mom would remind me. My younger sister also helped me check on their growth to see if any had sprouted. When I took them to school, my dad would tell me tons of things I had to remember, such as not to water them at noon or they would wither."

Witnessing how carefully their classmates took care of the tender plants, students helped transplant the seedlings from cotton pads into flowerpots. They feared that any small act of carelessness might damage the plants and wipe out all the efforts they had put in. They thoughtfully inserted bamboo sticks into the soil and pulled strings tight up the wall, for this way each plant could climb to the roof. They even came to school during holidays to pull weeds, water the plants and check on their growth.

A number of students spent two weeks working on the roof, tying strings from one end of the roof to the other. "At first we thought tying the strings should be a piece of cake, but we were wrong," commented Lin Yuan-min. "When the wind blew, the strings came loose. To prevent that from happening, we tied the ropes extra tight so that the plants could climb up smoothly."

The center of attention

As soon as the plants were planted, they became the center of attention in the school. All conversation circled around those green, vital lives. During breaks between classes, students and teachers would gather around the plants they were responsible for to observe their growth.

"Many children know little about the life of fruit and vegetables," observed Principal Lee. "This is a good chance for teachers to teach students about plants, such as the method of differentiating male and female squash." "Is there any difference between them?" asked students. A teacher explained, "You see, a male squash only blooms, but a female one not only blooms but also bears fruit." The fixed attention of the students showed that they were completely fascinated by the wonder of nature.

When the first squash was produced, everyone applauded and shouted with joy. This taste of new life made everyone put in even more care in looking after the plants. Lin Yu-chung often went to look at the plants during lunch break. "We collect withered leaves for organic fertilizer," he said expertly. "If we see hair growing on the squashes, it means the plants are almost ripe and must be picked quickly." Lin used to grow guavas. He knew how to protect the fruit from insects-it must be wrapped in newspaper. He applied the same method to sponge gourds. Yet strangely, this method always made them either dry up or fail to grow. He is still probing the reason.

Lin said that taking care of sponge gourds took up most of his time. Every day at noon, he would pick orange worms off the gourds with chopsticks, for he worried that the worms might eat too many leaves and the whole plants would just die. He also told us that if gourds and passion fruit were stung by bees, the infected area would gradually blacken and then rot away.

Lin loved vegetables so much that he asked his grandfather about tricks to ensure that the melons would grow big and beautiful even on the blazing hot steel roof. His grandfather taught him to insulate the melons from direct contact with the blazing roof by putting them on top of the vines. A girl even climbed up to the roof to trim branches and leaves, because her grandmother told her that this would make the plants flourish.

Both students and teachers looked forward to the new life with joy and anxiety, as if they were parents expecting their first baby. Liao Chia-yi, a ninth-grade student, described how her teacher treated squash plants like her own children. "Every day Mrs. Tsai would touch the seedlings or tenderly put the vines back on the frame. I remember when the first squash was produced, my chemistry teacher said he wanted it and we all granted his request. When Mrs. Tsai later learned about this, she was very upset because she had seen the plants grew from little sprouts to vines and later to fruit-bearing plants. And now the vines can almost reach to the other end of the roof! Those plants were like her own kids. So naturally she was reluctant to give her first child away."

When the plants ripen

Squashes grow quite fast. In spring, one or two squashes are ready to be picked almost every day. Passion fruit ripens in summer, which is a blessing to students taking summer courses, for they can drink fresh passion fruit juice.

Lin Yuan-min, who was responsible for picking the edible plants, said that the way to tell whether a melon is ripe is to touch the surface of the fruit. If it is not hairy or rough, then it is ready to be eaten.

His classmate Hsiao Hsi-che said from experience, "One way to tell if a sponge gourd is ripe or not is to pat it and then listen to the echo. If it sounds solid, then it is ready to be picked."

"When passion fruit starts turning yellow from the bottom, it can be picked," another student added. "Then put it aside until it turns reddish. It tastes the best at that time. If we don't pick the fruit as soon as it turns dark, others will take it. Some girls, who are usually slower, worry that the boys will take all the fruit, so they carve their names on it. When the fruit turns darker, the name shows up more clearly on the surface. This way, no one dares to take it."

Some students and teachers worry that when plants bear a lot of fruit, the students may not be able to finish all of them. "Then we will hold an all-school cooking competition," Counselor Lee said. "We can fry sponge gourds or make pumpkin pies. First prize will be one pumpkin, second prize will be one squash, and so on." Everyone rolled with laughter at these yummy ideas. Some even drooled!

You reap what you sow

The Tzu Chi Foundation initiated Project Hope, a plan to construct over fifty schools, including Chunghsing Middle School, damaged by the devastating earthquake. In early June, the school held a flea market to celebrate the groundbreaking, and the revenue was all donated to Project Hope. Melons and fruit were among items sold at the fair. Lin Yuan-min said he had not harvested anything for over one week because he wanted to save everything for this special occasion. He hoped to let more people buy fruit planted with love.

Lin, who will graduate this year, said, "If it weren't for the earthquake, we wouldn't have had the chance to grow vegetables. I really hope that when I come back to visit, the whole school will be green. It must be very beautiful."

Lai Hsiang-shan learned much from taking care of sponge gourds. "I learned that in order to have a good result, effort and mindfulness must be put in. Isn't this what 'You reap what you sow' means?"

Indeed, these plants with their unyielding vitality have taught the students a great deal. They grow in blazing hot weather, in the same way that the whole school deals with natural disaster with optimism and mutual help.