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Little green fingers are helping to make this year’s Bahrain International Garden Show (BIGS) a colourful event, thanks to the kingdom’s first and oldest gardening association.
The Bahrain Garden Club (BGC), which will celebrate its 48th anniversary at the country’s biggest garden exhibition, is giving children as young as three the opportunity to showcase their talents at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC) as part of the BIGS.
The BIGS is built on a history of amateur gardening shows which have been run by the Bahrain Garden Club since it opened its doors in 1965 and in 2004 Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa expanded the concept to an international level.
After participants took part in BGC’s annual Flower and Vegetable Show last week – where they arranged plants, flowers and vegetables interpreting a varied number of themes – three winners from each of the 83 categories in the competition have been invited to showcase their work at the venue’s biggest cornerstone from February 27 to March 2.
BGC chairman Zahra A Malik said: “The children are a very important factor to the BIGS because it really gives them the chance to be creative … they also love showing their work in one of the most visited and biggest cornerstone in the show, which belongs to us!
“We have different categories for different age groups, for example, pre-school children must use clay pots which also keeps them in touch with the tradition of pottery in Bahrain, kids aged eight to 12 must show Bahrain’s unity by using Bahraini grown flowers and flower arranging and then teenagers aged 13-18 must be creative and think of ways of ‘turning trash to treasure’ using recycled rubbish items, plants, flowers and vegetables.
“It’s all very varied, plenty of fun and involves everyone. It is so joyful and refreshing to see children contributing to the environment and at the same time learning about recycling, where their food comes from and being creative.”
At the show, one winner will be selected from each section and receive cash prizes, a gardening voucher and a gardening book.
“We are very optimistic. BIGS is the largest event of its kind in the Gulf and it gives the opportunity to schools, gardeners and flower arrangers to show their craft and skill,” added Mrs Malik.
“It is an important incentive for those who want to go further and maybe even study horticulture at a higher level. This is good for Bahrain and as the saying goes: the children are our future.”
Running alongside these activities will be a competition for the best-kept school garden, organised by the BGC, which is being adjudicated by a visiting judging panel at each premises.
Pupils Manal Kashif and Adeel Asif, both aged eight, from Pakistan Urdu School have both worked hard to produce a miniature garden featuring a barn made of recycled cardboard, a fence made from wooden sticks, decorative stones, a variety of flowers and even a small pond.
Manal, from Adliya, said: “We have had so much fun making our garden. We had a little help from our parents but it was mainly our idea.”
Adeel also revealed how the project has been a valuable learning experience. He said: “We used a lot of recycled things and we picked flowers and stones for the garden. We learned a lot about gardening and the environment from our school teachers.”
School organiser Khazala Malik Abdul Latif said: “In the science lessons the students, accompanied by their teachers, went outside the classroom to work on the garden. It encourages them to continue the learning process in fun and active surroundings.”
This year’s BIGS, organised by the National Initiative for Agricultural Development (NIAD), aims to highlight the many businesses and career opportunities that exist in the sector as well as give the opportunity to professionals and amateurs in the field to exhibit their work. The event is held under the banner ‘Investing in Agriculture’.
The BIGS will be held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad with the support of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka, who is president of NIAD.
Thousands of visitors attend BIGS every year from architects, consultants and developers to other industry professionals, as well as hobbyists and retail consumers.
Shaikha Maram bint Isa Al Khalifa, general co-ordinator of BIGS, added: “The show has been growing steadily over the years and this time we expect more than 20,000 people to come.
“Last year we had 75 exhibitors occupying a total exhibiting area of 6,600 square metres. We have seen a number of new entrants in the market recently and we believe that this is just the start. In fact, the under-investment this sector has witnessed in recent years means that there are many highly-lucrative areas of real potential which are just sitting there, waiting for the right projects and investors.
“The current business environment, combined with available developmental initiatives like Tamkeen make this a unique time in Bahrain’s history for investors to enter this market.”
Over the years BIGS has attracted exhibitors from the US, France, Spain, Italy, the UK, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Thailand and Japan in addition to all the GCC countries. Last year, through the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), it had participants from Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Tunisia as well. UNIDO is supporting the initiative again this year, as is Tamkeen.
*BIGS will take place at the BIECC from February 27 to March 2. Entry is 500 fils. Hall 2 of the centre will be dedicated to landscaping and garden design while Hall 1 will showcase a variety of goods and services relating to the subject. An awards ceremony will be held honouring exhibitors with a winner selected by a panel of experts.
For more information, visit www.bigs.com.bh or www.bahraingardeningclub.com
