School garden

The Green Sustainability Project at Hillarys Early Childhood Learning Centre

Posted on by Erica
26
Jun
Hillarys Early Learning Centre garden
The children enjoyed planting and caring for their vegetables.
Every year since 2008 Coles and Junior Landcare have been providing grants to schools and youth groups to create gardens in their grounds or community.  The Hillarys Early Childhood Learning Centre, in Hillarys, Western Australia, received a $1100 grant in 2012 to develop an interactive sensory garden that involved not only the school and parent community but also members of the wider, local community. This is their story:
The Green Sustainability Project at Hillarys Early Childhood Learning Centre is a community project involving the staff from the school, the parent community and wider community (grandparents and interested members of the local community) which turned a very lifeless patch of unused ground attached to the Early Years Learning Centre into an interactive Sensory Garden. Continue reading →

Our environment, School garden

Gardening and Sustainability Resources for Teachers

Posted on by Erica
The Clean Up Australia Day Website
The Clean Up Australia Day website is a great resource for teachers
I am often asked about sustainability and gardening resources for teachers who are after ideas to use with their students. Over the years I have used a number of different websites for ideas and inspiration when planning my lessons. Here are my favourites: Continue reading →

Recipes, School garden

Roasted Herb Potatoes for Kids

Posted on by Erica
16
Jun
Herbed potatoes for Kids
Your kids will devour these herbed potatoes - especially if they make them themselves.
Last year the preps, year 1 students and I planted potatoes in the school garden. We planted a variety including some very cool purple potatoes which the kids were very intrigued by. After school resumed this year the students were eager to head out into the garden to dig up our potatoes and see how many had grown. We ended up with enough potatoes to make two large batches of roasted herb potatoes.
This is the simple, yet delicious, recipe that we used: Continue reading →

Guest Posts, Recipes

Guest Post: Silverbeet and Feta Cheese Rolls for Kids

Posted on by Erica
Silverbeet and Feta Rolls
Silverbeet is a great vegie for kids to cook with
I am thrilled to share with you today a fantastic guest recipe post by Kay Richardson from The Children’s Food Education Foundation (CFEF). The Foundation aims to improve the health outcomes of marginalised children and young people.  Using food as a vehicle for social innovation and enterprise, their programs encourage healthy eating and address healthier living barriers like social exclusion, lack of literacy and independent living skills.  The Foundation collaborates with others to achieve successful long-term outcomes for children and young people experiencing disadvantage, chronic illness, disabilities, mental disorders, and those who care for themselves or others.

Silverbeet and Feta Cheese Rolls – makes lots

This is a really tasty and easy recipe to use up silverbeet grown in your garden. Unless you are having a party, don’t cook and eat them all at once because, once the rolls are made, they can be frozen. Remember to ask a grown-up to be your assistant and help read the recipe plus do all the things that might be tricky or dangerous for you to do on your own. Continue reading →

Compost and worm farms, School garden

A Compost Critter Investigation for the Kids

Posted on by Erica
slaters in compost
Investigating compost critters
This week is International Composting Awareness Week so it’s the perfect opportunity to engage kids in the wonderful world of composting. Today my students and I rolled up our sleaves, pulled out the magnifying glasses and had a fun afternoon investigating the animals that live in our school compost. The kids absolutely loved it and I had a hard time getting them to put the compost back at the end of the lesson. They all wanted to stay after school and keep going! Continue reading →

Recipes, School garden

Broccoli, Potato and Silverbeet Soup

Posted on by Erica
Broccoli, Potato and Silverbeet Soup
Broccoli, Potato and Silverbeet Soup made by my year 1 and 2s
I recently posted about using broccoli from our school garden in recipes with my students. I promised that I would post the recipes as the kids absolutely loved them so here if the first one for you – Broccoli, Potato and Silverbeet Soup. Continue reading →

School garden

"I Don't Like……."

Posted on by Erica
Harvest for our broccoli soup
Our 'yucky' produce from the garden for our broccoli soup
So your kids say ‘I don’t like broccoli’? Well they certainly wouldn’t be the first. In fact I heard it quite a bit just this week at school. We had a lot of broccoli growing (or bolting actually) in our school veggie garden so I thought it was time we harvested and used it in the kitchen. Continue reading →

Garden activities for kids, Minibeast of the moment

Caterpillar Hunting for Kids

Posted on by Erica
07
Aug
Kids love searching for caterpillars
Caterpillars - Cute little critters aren't they?
Caterpillars! They sure look cute and kids love finding them in the garden but boy can they cause some destruction! When I first started working in the school garden the students were so excited to show me the caterpillars that lived there. They thought of them almost like pets. That was until I explained that they were the reason the poor kale plants were looking the worse for wear. Well, then the hunt was on to rid the garden of each and every little green caterpillar that lived there. Continue reading →

Recipes

Spanakopita with silverbeet

Posted on by Erica
Silverbeet is a good alternative to spinach for spanakopita
I recently asked the students that I work with what they would like to achieve in their kitchen garden program this year. Many of them were very eager to learn how to cook and some asked specifically to learn how to cook spanakopita.  As the school garden already had a large plot of silverbeet I thought we’d try our hand at making this traditional greek recipe with what we had on hand rather than using spinach. We also used leeks that we had growing as opposed to onions.
Continue reading →