Blooming Success: Heywood and District Secondary College triumphs at Victorian School Gardens Awards

By Tania Karamitos

The weather could not have been more perfect for the 46th Annual Victorian Schools Garden Awards Presentation Ceremony, held at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, on Oak Lawns under the shade of the beautiful oak trees.

Over 460 students and teachers, from 35 schools across the State, some as far Wendouree and Mt Beauty, gathered to celebrate their school garden achievements and to find out what Award they had won.

Three regional schools, Our Lady Star of the Sea in Cowes, Warrnambool East Primary School and Heywood and District Secondary College were the state finalists, with Heywood and District Secondary College taking out the grand prize of the Kevin Heinze Perpetual Award.

Heywood and District Secondary College garden boasts a hydroponic shade house; kitchen garden; aquaponics; compost bays and worm farms to support natural fertiliser for gardens beds; orchard and a chicken coop used by Food Technology classes; frog bogs; yarning circle; and a range of farm animals as part of their agriculture program. Students have been an integral part of the planning/design, building/development, and maintenance of these areas.

Over $44,000 worth of vouchers and garden products were distributed to the successful schools to continue their impressive garden programs, with categories including the Best Edible Garden, Most Engaging Garden for Wellbeing Learning and Best Improvement of a School’s Green Space, to name a few.

School gardens provide great hands-on learning opportunities while also contributing to the mental health and well-being of our students, staff and school communities. The Victorian School Gardens Program encourages schools to see the learning capabilities in developing their yards and envisions ‘every school a garden, every garden a classroom’. For more information on grants, free garden incursions, the Branch Out program, awards and teachers’ workshops, visit vsgp.org.au.

The Victorian Schools Garden Program would like to thank the Victorian State Government, Department of Education and other award sponsors for their continued support and help to grow young green thumbs and a sustainable future.

And the winners are:

Kevin Heinze Perpetual Award: Heywood and District Secondary College

Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria – Most Engaging Garden for Play: Seaford Kindergarten

Diamond Creek Primary School

Chelsea Heights Primary School Derinya Primary School

Maxicrop – Best Edible Garden Award:

St Paul Apostle North Primary School, Endeavour Hills

Resurrection Primary School, Keysborough St Mark’s Primary School, Dingley Red Rock Christian College

P55 Recycling Champion Award

1st Diamond Creek Primary School

2nd Yarra Primary School

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – Most Engaging Garden for Wellbeing Learning:

Ardeer South Primary School

Sunshine Heights Primary School Red Cliffs Secondary College

Independent Schools Victoria –Greatest Improvement of School’s

Green Space:

Glenallen School, Glen Waverley

Whitehorse Primary School, Blackburn Altona College

Horticultural Media Victoria – Best School Garden Exhibiting Biodiversity: St Patrick’s Primary School, Port Fairy

Wendouree Primary School

Above: MC Craig Taberner, VSGP Chairman and NGIV CEO.

Below: Students participated in activities after the ceremony.

Australian Growing Solutions Award: Heathmont East Primary School

Fleming’s Nurseries Award: Sunbury Primary School

FoodCube by Biofilta Award: Ripponlea Primary School

RB Landscape Award: Osborne Primary School, Mt Martha

Turf Victoria Award provided by Lilydale Instant Lawn: Coburg Primary School

State Award:

Our Lady Star of the Sea, Cowes

Warrnambool East Primary School

Heywood and District Secondary College