News

Wattle Park PS community gets on board

Every new Kitchen Garden School holds an initial community meeting to introduce the Program to their communities and rally the vital support needed to ensure success. Wattle Park PS was awarded a grant late in 2010, and recently invited the local public to get on board. They were apprehensive about the potential turnout, but here's what happened ...

The Kitchen Garden Program school committee had met and organised the night some time ago before the school holidays. Even though we had done lots of communicating through our website, newsletters and signs up in the local shop windows we weren't quite sure how the night would go and how many would attend. But we proceeded to organise the night to the highest possible standard - champagne was ordered, hors d'oeuvres were prepared throughout the day by our wonderful parent Con Ballis (restaurateur from the Conti) and Year 5 and 6 students Caitlin, Catherine, Maddy, Callum and Matthew.

The night was a wonderful event! Approximately 90 community members were in attendance including students, teachers, parents, residents from neighbouring Cameron Close, neighbours and local business people. Tim Humphries (our Kitchen Garden Program President), Robyn Gilmour (School Project Manager), Angela Ashley-Chiew (Foundation Project Officer) and Gayle Cope (School Principal) all spoke passionately about the Program and what it will mean for the students and the school to have the Kitchen Garden Program in operation.

It was such a positive and rewarding night for all the committee members, who are so supportive in volunteering their time and effort to see the successful implementation of the Program at the school.

And now the donations are beginning to roll in. Five sets of Franke sinks, tapware and soap dispensers have been donated by a grandfather of one of the students. Garden tools for the children have been donated by the father of one of the teachers, and we have also received several cash donations.

Our garden construction is well on the way, with parents Dave Bell and Mike Napier working tirelessly through rain, hail and shine! Everything seems to be progressing, and the school is such a busy vibrant place to be!

Congratulations to the whole Wattle Park community - a great start to the Kitchen Garden Program.