Envirobeat Teacher’s Conference 2012

Tambar Springs Restaurant and GardenMaddy Adams

Tambar Springs Restaurant & Garden

For the last 2 years the students at the school have been growing their own vegetables and cooking their own lunch once a week. To give the students the variety of cooking experiences they need, the “Luscious Lunches” Restaurant initiative was adopted. “Luscious Lunches” is open for lunch every third Wednesday of the month and consists of a two-course meal. By opening a restaurant for the community, the students have been able to further develop their knowledge and skills in both areas of food preparation and cooking. The students run the restaurant from start to finish, including choosing the recipe, converting recipes, shopping for ingredients, preparing and cooking the food, setting the tables, plating and serving meals and cleaning up.

Through this program the students have the opportunity to sit, eat, and have conversations with members of the wider community. All students from Kindergarten to Year 6 are fully involved in every process and are very proud of what they can now produce. The community has embraced this initiative and the students are now cooking food for their families at home.

How this initiative was born…

Garden FocusPlanting seeds and seedlingsPlanning and designing garden bedsMaintaining and harvesting produceUsing language specific to gardens

Planting seeds and seedlings

The students decided on the produce that they wanted to grow over the summer period. After discussing sustainability the students made garden pots out of newspaper which they planted the seeds into. They were left to grow in the pots and will be planted into the kitchen garden as seedlings.Planning and designing garden beds

The students need to consider the produce that they have chosen and the amount of space available in the kitchen garden. It is important for them to think about the size that the plant will reach and allow enough space for that. They also need to think about specific plants that they have and what they require, for example, corn plants need other corn plants close by so that they can be pollinated. Succession planting is another concept that the students need to consider. They need to ensure that the plants keeps producing fruit, so some plants may need to be planted every few weeks. Also, vegetable crop rotation is important because if the same plant is grown in the same patch of soil each year it may develop a disease and the health of the soil will deteriorate. Therefore, the students need to learn about the different vegetable families so that they are aware of what can be planted after each year’s crop.

Garden FocusPlanting seeds and seedlingsPlanning and designing garden bedsMaintaining and harvesting produceUsing language specific to gardens

Maintaining and harvesting produceThe students have already been preparing the garden beds, ready for the seedlings to be planted. They have spread horse manure and also blood and bone to ensure the soil is healthy. Over the top they have spread a thick layer of Lucerne mulch. Throughout the term, the students will have to water the garden, but they will also have to monitor how they are growing. If they notice a bug eating a crop, they will have to identify what the pest is and research how to get rid of it using natural remedies, which they will make themselves. It is also important for the students to make sure that they are aware of how to tell when fruit is ready to be picked.

Using language specific to gardensIt is vital that throughout this unit, students begin to use garden specific terminology. For example, when we planted seeds, we discussed what germination was and now it would be expected that most students would use that terminology during further discussions. Garden specific language also refers to plants, parts of a plant, plant families, fertiliser, garden implements, mulch etc

The school kitchen garden has been a part of the school for the past six years. During that time it has been a low maintenance, experimental garden with students tending to it at their own leisure and during lunch breaks.

During term three this year, the school decided to design and plan a more productive kitchen garden where the students take responsibility and look after the garden.

At this stage it is still a low cost garden which is being run with donations from community members. The school has applied for some grants to assist in the expansion of the garden but as it is very small scale, there has been no success thus far.