Mini Blogger – Composting by Sophia aged 11

Sophia and compost bin
Sophia Mixing Her Compost
Why compost?
Composting is a great way to reduce waste and feed your garden. By composting your fruit and vegetable scraps you are not only doing a good deed for nature but you are helping reduce pollution; for example when you throw your fruit and veggie scraps in the normal rubbish bin it rots and produces toxic gasses. When you compost you avoid this.
By composting you are also creating a cycle: first you eat the fruit and/or vegetables and then throw the scraps in your compost bucket, when your compost bucket gets full you take the bucket out to your big compost bin and over time the scraps will break down so that you can use it on your veggie garden. This is excellent soil for your new vegetables to grow healthy and also saves you money because you don’t have to buy soil. Once it has all broken down you can use it on your garden, then when your fruits and veggies are ready to pick the cycle restarts. Continue reading

Gardening Activities Around Australia These School Holidays

girls at cranbourne bot gardens
Kid Friendly Activities at the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens
With the school holidays upon us in most parts of the country, it is a great time to visit your local Botanic Garden. Many Botanic Gardens around Australia have free or low cost activities designed for kids.  Links to some of the kid friendly activities happening at our Botanic Gardens during the September 2014 school holidays are listed below.
Sydney – A range of activities for children aged between 3 and 12, held at the Sydney, Mount Annan and Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens.
Melbourne – Craft, nature and gardening activities for kids held at the Melbourne and Cranbourne Botanic Gardens.
Brisbane – Story time for toddlers and free school kids activities at the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens. Continue reading

Can You Make a Perfect ‘Pitch’ of Green? Grants Now Open

Junior Landcare grant
Turf Australia and Landcare Australia are searching for the best “pitch” for your patch – with the launch today of the Perfect Pitch of Green – a continuation of a grants program for schools and youth groups wanting to green up their sporting field or reinvigorate an outdoor learning area.
With 2014 being the year of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Junior Landcare and the peak body for turf growers have come up with a new take on the in-kind grants program for freshly grown grass.
This year, 10 lucky schools will be chosen to receive natural turf covering an area of up to 200 square metres – the equivalent to the goalmouth of a standard sporting field. The grass can be used to update sports areas, enhance outdoor learning areas, or create more spaces for playing.
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The Natured Kids' Play Outside Day Challenge

Australia Play Outside DayMay 4th is the Australian Conservation Foundation’s National Play Outside Day. ‘Natured Kids’ all around Australia will be building special shelters in their front and back yards, on their nature strip or in a little bit of nearby nature. Continue reading

Yates and Junior Landcare Winter Vegie Challenge

Junior Landcare Winter Vegie Challenge
With school just back and many community groups having their first get-togethers for the year, young people will be reminded about the foods that thrive in winter, with the launch of the Yates Junior Landcare Challenge – Winter Vegie Growing Journey.
The Challenge, which opens for registrations on 3rd March 2014, is a new take on the annual campaign run by Yates and Landcare Australia, which since 2008 has been encouraging young people to learn about growing their own food through hands-on experience. This is the first time the focus has been on winter vegetables, with entrants asked to write about their experiences and engage online through photo and story submissions.
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Growing Herbs for Kids

Herbs for kids
Herbs are easy to grow making them ideal for kids, first time gardeners and those without a lot of space in their gardens. Herbs smell beautiful, look interesting and taste amazing. Kids love picking, experimenting and playing with them so growing them is a great way to encourage kids to be outside, exploring their senses and having fun in the garden. Continue reading

How to Stay Safe in the Garden this Summer

Stay safe in the garden this summer
Wearing appropriate clothing helps protect little ones in the garden

Summer is a wonderful time for kids to be outdoors in garden and the following tips will help keep your little green thumbs safe:

1. Always supervise your children in the garden. You don’t need to hover over the top of them but it is important to keep an eye on what they are up to.
2. Protect your little one’s hands with a pair of gardening gloves. Not only will they safeguard them from biting and stinging insects they will also help protect against any prickly plants. Continue reading

Our Top 5 Books about Gardening and Nature

garden book library quote
There’s a Chinese proverb “A book is like a garden in your pocket!”, and second to seeing seeds grow, nothing inspires junior gardeners better than reading about it in books.
Here’s our top 5  pick of classic picture books about gardening and nature your kids will love reading: Continue reading

Delicious Strawberry Jam

Strawberry jam recipe
Strawberry season is upon us. Fresh strawberries are the epitome of kids and summer gardening for me. We love growing them in our garden and I must admit that they rarely make it inside. If however your kids do happen to leave some strawberries available this is a great jam recipe they will enjoy making with a little adult supervision. Continue reading