6 minute read
Star of the Sea Ensure Gardening Shines Brightly for Students
By Matt Ross
In December’s Groundswell we announced the winners of the Victorian Schools Garden Program’s (VSGP) 43rd annual Victorian Schools Garden Awards ceremony. The virtual event was brought to life by VSGP advocates Costa Georgiadis and Jane Edmanson, for the many children and teachers in attendance.
Minister for Education, James Merlino, also made a guest appearance to talk about the importance of gardening, outdoor learning environments and the Victorian Schools Garden Awards.
“Sharing the importance of sustainable living and fostering a love of gardening is vital to ensuring that the next generation takes a hands-on approach to caring for the environment,” said Minister Merlino.
We caught up with Kerryn Sells, Principal, and Sue Constable. Sustainability Leader, at the grand prize and Perpetual Shield winners, Our Lady Star of the Sea Primary School, Ocean Grove, to understand the importance outdoor learning, gardening and the VSGP, and what they plan to achieve with their prize money.
Why are you passionate about exposing your pupils to gardening and outdoor learning?
Sue – The many benefits of outdoor learning and gardening have been identified and widely promoted in recent years. Here at Star for the Sea we incorporate outdoor learning into many aspects of our curriculum and see the positive results across all year levels.
Most evident on a daily basis are the positive effects of wellbeing, physical health, increased understanding of sustainability and caring for our planet. A sense of achievement and belonging is a wonderful effect of learning outdoors.
The gardens provide the perfect learning environment to aid in the understanding of sustainability principles such as biodiversity, waste, water and energy systems. The benefits of growing our own food, identifying plants, knowing how to grow, harvest and utilise the plants, and using the gardens as a micro representation of the entire world relating to interconnected systems and communities.
To be in awe, wonder about and question our natural world and the intricacies of its systems are all important for the future of society and our planet.
Kerryn – COVID-19 has taught us all the benefits of slowing down, this is something we have always focused on when in the gardens. Garden lessons both formal and informal are kept at a “no rush” pace. There is time to stop and observe plant growth and changes, time to notice the bees and hoverflies busily working in the gardens, the worms converting our fruit scraps into nature’s high quality soil conditioner.
Over the past three years we have embraced outdoor educational options to promote “being outdoors for learning” and how this benefits the lives of all. Along with taking many aspects of daily learning outdoors, other activities we leave the classroom for include: meditation, reading, lunchtime and recess gardening activities, school walks, local bush and beach walks, circle time, nature studies, art, quiet contemplation and short brain breaks. Commencing in 2021 we will be embracing Environmental Science as an outdoor-based specialist subject across most year levels.
Can you provide an example of something you witnessed in your school day that confirmed your belief that gardening is beneficial for children?
Kerryn – Witnessing the engagement, joy and confidence of students when working in the gardens is so rewarding, providing continued evidence that the gardens and outdoor learning are highly beneficial.
The number of students who flock to the gardens at recess and lunch times is continually increasing. Seeing students across all year levels working together and taking on responsibilities and guiding other students on the roles and responsibilities of the gardens is such a pleasure to witness.
Watching students who rarely raise their hands or participate in classroom discussion openly sharing their curiosity and asking questions while in the gardens is such a joy. Having the time to chat and answer questions and encourage curiosity is a huge benefit of learning outdoors. Similarly, many students who may rarely show the confidence to help or guide others will often step up in an outdoor environment. It is truly wonderful to witness the growing confidence and sharing of new-found skills and awareness among their peers.
Sue – Regular feedback from parents and carers about their children’s positive experiences in the gardens and information they are bringing home to share and teach other family members is so rewarding to hear. It has become a regular
occurrence to hear stories of children requesting garden beds or tools for birthday and Christmas gifts.
Students who may otherwise be disengaged in learning in the classroom seem to flourish outdoors with the physical and hands on experiences and problem solving that comes with time in the gardens.
What will you be able to achieve at the school with the prize money?
Sue – The prize money we gratefully received from VSGP will be of great benefit by contributing towards our ultimate goal of designing and relocating our main kitchen-garden area to a currently underutilised area of our school grounds.
This prize will enable us to commence our journey of:
> Ensuring the garden is well designed and planned from the outset including sustainable and practical principles suitable for a school environment.
> Embedding the principles of reuse and recycle by integrating features such as a chicken coop, compost bays, worm farms, a small orchard and use of tank water in the new area.
> Establishing a productive and educational garden area where students can learn about seasons and their relationship to life in the garden, how to take care of so many elements within the garden, growing and harvesting for tasting, cooking and selling, with the possibility of generating funds to feed back into the garden program. > Complementing the adjoining Indigenous bush tucker garden and our new outdoor classroom and BBQ area. The support from VSGP has been hugely beneficial. The opportunities to meet with staff and parents from school garden programs throughout the state each term is both beneficial and hugely rewarding.
> Complementing the adjoining Indigenous bush tucker garden and our new outdoor classroom and BBQ area.
It is not about how large or how productive your garden is, it’s just about getting the kids outside and enjoying the spaces, everything they learn in this informal environment is an added bonus and just via their curiosity and questioning they are continually learning, without even realising it.
Why is a Program like VSGP so important in today’s society?
Kerryn – We saw during COVID-19 the importance of the food chain and the need to be self-sufficient and sustainable.
The value and benefits of unprocessed, unpackaged and locally grown food cannot be overstated and teaching this to our younger generation is absolutely critical if we are going to make inroads into modern-day health and environmental issues.
With children generally spending less time outdoors due to many reasons it is so important for schools to incorporate outdoor learning into their everyday routines and expose students to the opportunity of being in tune with nature and providing time for them to wonder and learn about natural processes.
The support from VSGP has been hugely beneficial. The opportunities to meet with staff and parents from school garden programs throughout the state each term is both beneficial and hugely rewarding.
It is not about how large or how productive your garden is, it’s just about getting the kids outside and enjoying the spaces, everything they learn in this informal environment is an added bonus and just via their curiosity and questioning they are continually learning, without even realising it.
You can view the entire ceremony at vsgp.org.au. Thank you to all the Program sponsors that make the Awards and the Program possible.
