By Callum Ludwig
Wandin Yallock Primary School students have been recognised for their green thumbs at the Victorian School Gardens Program awards ceremony.
The school was announced as the Regional winner and as one of the three overall State winners.
School Garden Specialist and Environment Educator at Wandin Yallock Primary School Jillian ‘Farmer Jill’ Dowling said they were stunned and excited to have won the pair of awards.
“We didn’t know what we had won when we went, just that we had won an award. We had applied for two award categories so thought we had won one of those or both, but later on, to be announced as one of the three state winners, we were really excited,” she said.
“We didn’t even hear our school’s name called out, so no one stood up and we had to be prompted to come up and get our photo taken. The students were excited but a bit overwhelmed, it was a big day for them travelling on the train and then a tram, which some of them hadn’t done before.”
The ceremony brought together over 400 teachers, education support staff and students from over 30 schools to the Oak Lawn at the Royal Botanic Gardens for the 45th annual ceremony on Thursday 24 November.
Ms Dowling said the students are very proud of their garden.
“If anyone asks them what they’ve been doing in the farm program and around the school, they’re very happy to share, they’re pretty proud of their achievements and enjoy being in the farm, picking produce, growing, watering and naming plants,” she said.
“We’ve created a lunchbox garden for students to pick from at lunchtime, such as bringing a sandwich to add lettuce to or finding fennel fronds or peas to eat. It’s really great to hear someone asking them what they’ve been up to or what they grow in the farm and they’re all able to answer.”
Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin welcomed attendees to the gardens with a smoking ceremony, highlighting the important connection to Country which students are learning and growing on.
Ms Dowling said it is really important to teach their children where their food comes from, particularly given the area in which they live.
“We’re surrounded by orchards, strawberry farms and a lot of other agriculture but we can’t assume that everyone in the area has a productive garden themselves, even if they may have the space to. Kids now talk about going to their grandparent’s house and helping in the garden,” she said.
“If they see how easy it is to do it here, they might then have their own little garden plot at home and be able to grow fresh food, getting that hands-on experience in growing it themselves.”
Wandin Yallock Primary School now has its eyes on going one better and bringing home the Kevin Heinze Perpetual Award in the future, the pick of the bunch of the three State winners.
