Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program

During 2014 we joined the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program as part of our Sustainable Learning Environment Focus area. This Program is a comprehensive integration of gardening and cooking into the Curriculum and is mainly aimed at Year 3 level. 

Over the last three years we have continued to run the SAKG largely with the Year 3 classes. The 2021 Year 3 class planted the remaining six bush tucker beds out in the Nature Play area. The children researched a number of different plants and what their qualities were.

Menang Elder, Larry Blight, came to school and talked in detail about the qualities of the bush tucker and how they have been used by Indigenous Australians for hundreds of years. The children created information slides about these plants, and these were assigned QR codes which can be accessed by our community through our school website.

We were able to use these plants in our cooking sessions. We held several long table lunches, assisted by a number of parents and grandparents. Their help has been invaluable, and the children and teachers alike are incredibly grateful for their support.

In 2022 we overhauled the existing garden beds outside the art room. We imported new soil and replanted a number of crops which we then used to make delicious meals which we enjoyed at our long table lunches. The new soil made a big difference, and our vegetables grew really well.

In 2023 we have had to replant our Indigenous Garden as some of the plants have not flourished. The children from Room 6 researched plants and made PowerPoints to assign to QR codes which we plan to incorporate into for our community nature walk trail. Cooking this year has tended to be integrated with the LOTE Cultural Studies program, although we did again make Lily Pilly jam.

Sustainabilty has also been a focus with the inclusion of worm tubes. - lengths of capped PVC pipe with holes drilled into them that stand in the garden beds and the scraps or garden waste go straight into them.

All students took part in an incursion to educate the school community on the purpose and practical implementation of worm farming (including building the worm tubes). All classes were involved in worm education and designing posters that can be displayed around the school to educate students as to what can and can not go into these tubes. 

See our 2023 Recipie Collection here