GREEN thumbs come in all shapes and sizes. When early childhood educator Casey Kent embarked upon a sustainable gardening program two years ago, she despaired at her efforts to grow produce.
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Today, her burgeoning gardening interest is the reason one of Forster’s preschools is amongst five finalists in a national award celebrating teaching which goes above and beyond the norm.
Lillipilly Preschool has been recognised in the 2014 HESTA Early Childhood Education and Care Awards for developing a program to reduce pre-packaged foods in lunchboxes whilst strengthening links
between the home, the preschool, and the community.
The healthy eating initiative, which they have termed Locavore, involves children growing fresh
produce at home, then cooking and eating it.
“It all started when I asked the children if they knew where seeds had come from… I was a little shocked when their only response was ‘Bunnings’!” Casey said.
“So we set about showing the children where seeds really did come from, and it snowballed from there.”
Recognising that they could only grow so much in the limited space at the preschool, every child was sent home with their own Locavore pack, to grow their own food.
“The packs included donated organic locally sourced vegetable seeds and seedlings, how-to-grow guides, info sheets and a project timeline to help families set up a garden at home.”
The children and their families were asked to grow the food and document their experiences through a description of the plant’s growth, drawings and photos of the children in the garden.
They rose to the challenge.
“The children would talk about how big their beans had grown at home,” Casey said.
Activities were set up for the children in line with the preschool’s sustainability program including paper making, mini worm farms and seeds to replenish their gardens, planted in bio-pots made from recycled shredded paper.
Daily gardening activities at the preschool mirrored those taking place at home.
“When Locavore began, approximately 30 per cent of families had a home garden. By the end of the program, all the children had access to some form of home garden and the influence of the program extended further, with many children saving seeds and propagating plants for neighbours and grandparents.”
The program, which began in September 2013, finished under the stars in January 2014 when all the produce was harvested and cooked in a ‘paddock to plate’ evening held for the community at the Preschool.
“The whole thing came about through the aim of ‘inspiring your children to grow’. But this ended up helping them grow not only as a child, but as a family member, and as a gardener,” Casey said.
Perhaps Casey is a better gardener than she thinks.
Miss Kent and other interstate finalists will be flown to Melbourne for an awards dinner, where the winners will be announced during the Early Childhood Australia National Conference on Saturday September 6. The Advancing Pedagogy and Practice, and Excellence in Building Inclusion Award winners will each receive $10,000 to further implement their program or initiative. The winner of the Outstanding Young Graduate Award will receive a $10,000 development grant.