School gardens update

Dec 20

Posted by: lyn in: Garden projects

Recently I visited Westport Public School at Port Macquarie to see their school garden. The garden is cultivated according to the lessons in the ‘Organic School Gardens’ program that I wrote for BFA and is available free to all Australian schools on the internet. Although, to look at the website, you would think the program was all the work of the Victorian government.
I was delighted to see how much the children and the dedicated staff at Westport have achieved in a few short months during what has been a very busy year. The Holiday Coast Credit Union and the local Bunnings store have shown great generosity of spirit in providing funding, equipment and labour to get the garden started. The children have had fun discovering how good organically-grown vegetables and strawberries taste and how vigorous and pest-resistant plants are when using organic cultivation methods, and are justifiably proud of their efforts. Well done, to everyone involved.

You can find the program at organic school gardens

View the original article here

Organic school gardens

As some readers know, I have been kept very busy this year writing the Organic School Gardens program for the Biological Farmers of Australia to teach children how to garden for a sustainable future.

This program is unique, as it is provided free to all schools across Australia – it is non-commercial – it features practical and easy-to-use online resources and lesson plans suitable for Australian schools, plus a separate set of lesson notes for teachers, and
– it is the only Australian school garden program written in line with organic standards.
BFA’s program is designed to be adaptable to all schools, including children with special needs and schools with very limited resources, and it is designed to integrate with other subjects in the curriculum, making learning fun and more meaningful for students.
Gardening expertise is not necessary to conduct this program. In going through the lessons and supervisor notes, teachers and volunteers will learn how to garden organically themselves.

BFA’s Organic School Gardens Program can be accessed and downloaded simply by going to:
http://www.organicschools.com.au/

The last three lessons in the program will be available to schools at the beginning of October in time for the next school term, and from later this month I will be able to spend more time writing posts for my blog. I’d like to thank all of you for your patience while I have been working on this project.

View the original article here