Cooking with bush tucker plants at O’Sullivan Beach School

This story originally appeared as a case study on the website of Natural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges, a resources management body in South Australia. It also appeared in its publication for educators, the NRM Education weekly digest.

O’Sullivan Beach School has a strong commitment to reconciliation and the celebration of Aboriginal culture, especially Kaurna culture.

The South Australian school is a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program School, with dedicated staff members running cooking and gardening classes with all year levels, as well as the O’Sullivan Beach Children’s Centre next door. Liz, the garden specialist, decided to promote Aboriginal culture through their cooking and gardening program.

In 2016 they were successful in receiving a City of Onkaparinga Environment Grant to extend their indigenous garden to include more Aboriginal traditional-use plants. The students were involved in researching the plants, and planting and caring for them.  They found it more difficult than expected to obtain information about Aboriginal traditional uses of plants. The information they did find on how the plants can be used was included on signs, along with the scientific and common names of the plants.

Students created the main sign and artwork at the entrance to the indigenous garden. Around some of the garden path edges, they have drawn well-known Aboriginal art symbols and explained their meaning. For example, they have included Aboriginal art symbols for meeting places, water and emu tracks, all with the aim of making the garden more interactive.

With Trudi, the kitchen specialist, students are now starting to cook with some of the garden produce. Last term they made quandong jam drops; warrigal soup; warrigal greens, beetroot and feta salad; and wattleseed damper on the fire. Cooking classes provide an opportunity to learn new words, follow recipes and measure, which helps to improve numeracy and literacy.

O’Sullivan Beach School has benefitted from having the garden as an outdoor learning area in which to do a wide range of cultural, and other, activities. The curriculum is now more closely linked with what is happening outside and the students are proud of what has been achieved because they’ve been involved at every stage.

As the indigenous garden grows, the school hopes to incorporate more bush foods into their cooking program.