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Inspiration across the nation

As each group settles at their table, the clock starts running and the noise levels go way up. There are coloured pens everywhere, big sheets of paper, people bursting with ideas and coming up with grand plans. No, it's not a Year 5 class - it's a room full of Kitchen Garden Principals, Program Coordinators and Teachers getting excited about the new Kitchen Garden Tools for Teachers resource!

Tools for Teachers was sent to all principals of Kitchen Garden Schools in September. Six units with lessons and activities give just a few ideas about ways to extend the learning that takes place in the kitchen and the garden, to make explicit connections with classroom learning.

Training sessions open up a world of new ideas! So far, we have held sessions in SA, NT, WA and TAS. Sessions for schools in other states will run during October - Kitchen Garden Schools can contact their local Project Officer to grab a space!

At last week's session in Perth, participants took the unit, Garden Life, and found ways to extend it creatively. Garden Life covers seed dispersal, pollination and pest control in the garden. Participants soon had ideas for explorations about bees (what is attacking the world's bee population?), agricultural quarantines and natural barriers to the spread of insects, seeds or pollen, how to encourage beneficial insects - and the ways we can protect the flora and fauna that is indigenous to our area. There were literacy links: one school was exploring 'Green eggs and ham', discussing how one might make green eggs, and taking surveys to see who would try them. Notably the results were much more enthusiastic for green eggs made with pesto and spinach, as opposed to food colouring!

If you are participating in the Kitchen Garden Program, why not join us for one of the training sessions? Talk to your Project Officer about sessions in your state, and if we've already been to your area, watch this space for more stories about the creative ways schools are using Tools for Teachers. We look forward to sharing some of the exciting activity going on all over the country.