Organic gardens in schools mean the future is in good hands

It’s delightful to see the number of schools that are establishing organic food gardens on their grounds and making them an integral part of the curriculum. Kids respond so well to this type of learning. I had the pleasure of witnessing this first hand recently when I visited schools in country Victoria and NSW to conduct a series of organic gardening workshops.

On every occasion, I was overjoyed to witness how keen children were to participate in all activities; from building no dig garden beds to making organic worm farms from recycled materials. It’s simple hands on stuff that’s for sure, but this is where kids can happily apply what they learn in the class room; measuring, estimating, communicating, working in teams and solving practical problems. Then of course there’s the science behind caring for soils and how things grow. There’s always that kid that has a little more energy than others (the one that’s constantly in trouble because he/she can’t keep still in class) – hand them a bunch of tools, a wheel barrow and a willing group of workers and they’re off putting their new found leadership skills into practice. And it’s not only the primary schools. In one high school I visited, we ran an organic garden design workshop for year 9 students where teams had to come up with idea on how to beautify their school grounds – the solutions they presented where simply inspirational.

But the driving force behind these opportunities are the teachers and parents; adults who are committed to organising time and resources to make it all happen… and there’s always plenty more room for other passionate individuals to lend a helping hand. This work that’s being done in schools is so important. That’s where you’ll find tomorrow’s architects, engineers, teachers, bankers, bakers, business people and of course politicians. Schools provide the perfect place to give every child a grounding in organics and nurture a love and respect for the earth.