De La Salle College Junior School, Malta, created The Quiet Quarters project, supported by the Lasallian Leavening Fund, which set out to establish a dedicated space within the school where students could engage in mindfulness, reading, and reflection, while also launching a student-led farming club to promote sustainability and ecological awareness.

The proposal emphasised student involvement at every stage of planning, implementation, and evaluation, with funds allocated to both the renovation of the quiet area and the resources required for the farming initiative. It also committed to transparent reporting on progress, financial use, and the project’s long-term impact on student well-being and ecological responsibility.

The implementation to date has seen significant progress in developing the mindful space. Students played an active role in site inspections, design preparation, and presenting plans to the Head of School, with the proposed designs approved and the designated area cleaned and prepared for use.

The website reporting highlights the integration of natural elements, quiet zones, and sustainable design features, all of which align strongly with the project’s aims and the Lasallian principles articulated in Laudato Si. Visual documentation of the preparatory stages further demonstrates that the reflective environment is well on track.

With regard to the farming club, the designated area has been identified and prepared, but structural issues prevented the installation of a drip irrigation system as originally planned. Nonetheless, the farming club will still be launched this year, and the groundwork has been laid for this purpose. The school has scheduled the initiative to commence in mid-November through a mid-day break club, ensuring students will still benefit from hands-on agricultural activities despite the setback. This demonstrates flexibility and commitment to fulfilling the project’s objectives, albeit with some adaptation.

One key challenge that has emerged relates to the evaluation process. While the application stage outlined ambitious plans for measuring the project’s impact, it has become clear that gauging and quantifying improvements in student well-being is complex and not easily reduced to straightforward indicators. The nature of the project lends itself more to qualitative impressions and long-term cultural shifts rather than immediate measurable outcomes.

To address this, the school remains open to suggestions and attentive to any opportunities for refining the evaluation process. As a practical step, the take-up of the farming club will serve as an indicator of student engagement, and feedback sheets will be prepared and disseminated at the end of the club season to gather reflections directly from participants.

The project has successfully advanced the development of the mindfulness and reflection space and embedded strong alignment with Lasallian values. Student involvement has been meaningful in the design and preparation stages, and the farming club is now set to be launched in November despite earlier technical challenges. While the evaluation process has proven more complex than originally anticipated, the project team is committed to finding appropriate ways to capture its impact and remains proactive in adapting approaches to ensure both the immediate benefits and the long-term legacy of the project are realised.