Silverton Primary School is nuturing its young students in sustainability through a great vegie garden and Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program.
The school has had their vegie garden for 20 years, where they grow beetroot, silver beet, a variety of flowers to divert bugs away from their vegies and provide pollination, without any chemicals.
Science teacher Emmanuelle Emile-Blake has been at the school for 25 years educating students on seeds, plants, cooking the recipes through the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program, the importance of a healthy diet and a lot more.
“The kids absolutely love it. We cook a lot of multicultural food, the kids are happy to see their mother cook the recipe at home as well as cooked at the school.
“A lot of the kids are very passionate about food because of their multicultural background.
“My focus is on eating very healthy food. That’s part of the program goals – teaching kid about eating whole food, instead of processed food.”
Together they make delicious things like cannelloni, samosas, beetroot muffins with organic ingredients and vegies straight from the garden.
Students learn about seeds and plantation, receive hands-on experience by growing and harvesting for their meals, maintaining the garden and cooking together in groups.
The overall experience also helps to drive social activity as students sit together to devour their meals.
“A lot of the kids eat in front of the TV. We have blocked the importance of eating the meals with families or friends,” Ms Emile-Blake says.
The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program advocate for the health and wellbeing of children and young people by delivering fun, hands-on and inclusive food education across the country.
For 20 years, it has supported schools, providing free online resources such as recipes, as well as professional development and educational resources.
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