Since we've completed two terms gardening at the local primary school -- and are about to tackle a third -- I thought I'd offer a few dot points on the experience.
The garden in June
My view is that school gardening like this may indeed be a way around the practical and political problems often faced by 'community' gardening initiatives. A partnership is needed between volunteers, teaching and ancillary staff but if there is enthusiasm among teachers -- who recognise the pedagogical and behavioural opportunities offered by gardening at school -- then the dynamic takes off. Indeed, I cannot envisage a school gardening project like this surviving without such a conscious partnership being worked at and engineered.Having a professional horticulturalist on hand also helps heaps. We all learn.
Similarly, the garden feeds a broader focus on fresh produce and un-alienated food that has nutritional and health consequences long term. It's clear that the children shift their menu preferences more toward the vegetable universe when they can relate to the growing of fresh food.
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I use a weekly email newsletter to keep folk on the same page. That means any one can attend the garden any time and know what needs to be done. Unregistered volunteers don't have access and the children are selected to participate according to various criteria determined by the teaching staff.
We have tumbler locks on the gate and shed and only the adults know the code for access.(In theory anyway). We have primary sessions on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and run off a core volunteer base of 5. That suits our needs without having to worry about finding things for folk to do. The core tasks are watering and weeding. Planting and harvesting are occasional events. We also distribute the produce if its off school grounds.
I'd say that the main activity that drives the engagement is hand watering.That has been very labour intense but it is a sort of ritualised engagement that draws the children into relentless participation. We've even been hand watering using watering cans--to and from the tap -- before the new pump was installed! So it has been a celebrated responsibility that the children have embraced keenly.
We've started to meet once per term to lay out the trajectory and theres' an ongoing discussion between teachers, principals and volunteers over possibilities.
The teachers' gardening skill set is very shallow...but they are learning. It can get difficult projecting tasks with the mixture of inputs, but consensus seems to work primarily because the ruling factor is the children.
The keen driver is the P&C which pushes the program more generally through the school and funds it In a sense the volunteers are working for the P&C ..and without these volunteers, it's very clear, there'd be no garden.
Our garden is quite large and has a keen production schedule ...but size can vary in other contexts, other schools. I think the focus on harvest and distribution is crucial. The logic kicks in. We go on about learning possibilities in way of horticulture and botany and biology but the school curriculum hasn't fully integrated those opportunity aspects of the garden yet.
So we're all learning...and the project is very open ended and has to be flexible. That we are anchored by a strong knowledge base among the vols is very useful as that saves a lot of hit and miss. All a teacher need do is ask if we could do something and we have a fair idea whether it is doable. That's why i love flexible beds..and reliance on annuals! The P&C has purchased soil and we access compost from the school grounds. Mulches are easily accessible too...and we use a lot of weed mat...but no sprays.
Great work there Dave. Must be satisfying to be able to share and promote your passion for gardening with the kids and ultimately enrich the wider community.
The FB page seems active.
Is Vera St CG still functioning? There's nothing beyond April 2014 on their website.
The great advantage of investing energies in a school garden is that it is ongoing as it is part of broader project -- education -- and sponsored by a major local institution.Your standard 'community garden' in contrast is very vulnerable.You need space, water, insurance and incorporation..and enough admin and hands on the ground to sustain it independently of anything else.
I'd like to see community members,P& Cs, and teachers looking at this option and adapting that. I've spoken with some school garden teachers -- in the Sandgate area -- and they have immense problems sustaining their project purely as an aspect of school run extra curricula.
I'd think that if a group of bods went to a school and said , "We'll volunteer -- let's make a garden.' the prospects would be very good for success. Initiatives like the Kitchen Garden Foundation miss that option and try to promote an expensive formula.
The one problem with the template we use is that if your work 5 days/week you're excluded from access and contribution. I've tried to work around that but school protocols are not flexible...But the Vera Street Community Garden does work a variation that suits that interface there with a local high school. Deagon's Green P -- which has just run into major problems with its PCYC sponsor -- has an ongoing partnership with various stake holders including the local high school.
Excellent blog and project. Truly an inspiration to others who might be wanting to do the same.
The fact you have such talented vols would definitely help as you say. Hopefully the learning will spill over to others who can continue the work even if your most talented vols ever disappear. Think of those kids who are being inspired to grow their own. Hopefully some have taken the desire home with them and started gardens there.
Always add photos using the "From my computer" option, even if you are on a mobile phone or other device.
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Added by Andrew Cumberland
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Vetiver grass helps to stabilise soil and protects it against erosion. It can protect against pests and weeds. Vetiver is also used as animal feed. (Wiki.)
GrowVetiver is a plant nursery run by Dave & Keir Riley that harvests and grows Vetiver grass for local community applications and use. It is based in Beachmere, just north of Brisbane, Australia.
Talk to Andy on 0422 022 961. You can Pay on this link
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