Andrew Watt, Principal, joined Year 3 students in their Sustainable Garden Kitchen, planting carrots to accompany the varieties of lettuce that are already flourishing.
The Sustainable Garden Kitchen was developed following a successful application for a Woolworths Landcare Grant and I was delighted to see the veggies already growing under the guidance of our ‘green-thumbed’ students.
The outdoor classroom’s aim is to provide opportunities for students to grow, harvest and reap the tasty rewards of their efforts while concurrently learning about life cycles and sustainability. Whilst the garden is growing day by day, it has taken much planning, teamwork and to get to this point. In Term 1, the students investigated and researched companion plants, interdependence between pollinators and plants, and created a garden plan. They also developed a pitch for their garden which was presented to their peers who then voted on the winning team’s garden plan.
The Sustainable Garden Kitchen brings more than ‘just’ tasty, nutritious and fresh produce – it provides opportunities for the curriculum to be taught in an active and engaging way that encourages students to apply their classroom skills to real life experiences. The young gardeners will learn the names of the plants in Hebrew; use the garden as a source of inspiration for Art; study the benefits of growing food and sustainable farming in Health and use their Science and Technology skills to discuss water systems. I believe that a suitably sized, five-star bee hotel is also planned, to encourage busy pollinators to the garden. I can’t think of a better home for a busy bee!
I love how the garden is a place of nature and peace. Jemima
I love learning about how much space each plant needs and how they grow. Isabella
I like going to the gardening club each week and seeing how much our plants have grown. Alessandra
It’s really fun and interesting to learn about plants. Raphael