Back in the 70s, I read a memorable article in Grass Roots magazine by the late Neil Douglas, Australian artist, environmentalist and advocate for sustainable living, where he stressed the need for schools to run gardening as part of every child’s education. Prophetically, he warned of the potential social and health issues resulting from our modern society’s enchantment with manufactured foods and disconnection from the land.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It took another 30 or so years for us to catch on. In 2001 another visionary, Stephanie Alexander, collaborated with the Victorian government to introduce gardening into primary schools. As a result, most primary schools today have a veggie patch and some form of program where kids learn to grow, harvest, prepare, and share freshly grown food.
Despite the demonstrated benefits of school gardening, interest drops off almost completely at secondary level. This makes us, at Wodonga Middle Years College Felltimber Campus, somewhat unique.
Here, we involve students in a wide range of gardening activities across the entire school grounds.
We work together to create a stimulating outdoor environment which sustains students, staff and local fauna with beauty, diversity, and abundance.
In the process, students gain skills, understanding and experience of the benefits of working with nature, nurturing the soil, plants, bugs, birds, and of being nurtured in return - all to equip them to make better choices for themselves, their families and their communities down the track.
As partners in this year’s Albury-Wodonga Sustainable Living Festival, we will be opening our gardens to the public to talk about our take on sustainable gardening methods: building fertile soils, fruit fly control, composting, wicking beds, seed saving, propagating from seed and cuttings, recycling, water conservation, habitats for pollinators and much more.
If it’s your kind of thing, please join us at our free event – Sustainable Gardening on a Shoestring.
Venue: School Community Garden, Wodonga Middle Years Felltimber Campus, Emerald Ave, Wodonga, Tuesday, November 20, 12.30–2pm.
RSVP by Friday, November 16 via email to hfoster@wmyc.vic.edu.au.
