Welcome to School Harvest and thank you for visiting our site.
We set it up to record and share the unfolding story of our slightly “different” school gardening project; to encourage other school gardeners, and also to brag a little.
Most of all, we set it up to stimulate ongoing conversation between all who are passionate about gardening in general, and school gardening specifically. We set it up to swap ideas about what works and what doesn’t; and to support one another in the daunting task of reconnecting a generation of young kids, so brilliant and so capable of navigating most complex electronic realities, back to grass roots. Back to where food grows in dirt, compost fragrantly matures , creepy crawly pests lurk in cabbage and lettuces and strawberries look, smell and taste like bits of heaven.
We invite you to share your thoughts and experience on the subject and look forward to your contributions to School Harvest . Don’t be shy, we’re all together in this and every little bit counts – after all we’re investing in the adults of tomorrow.
March 2012
OUR HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
We started very simply: a bare fenced off paddock with a tap, a handful of well used garden tools and a healthy dose of determination. Objective: to turn our rather desolate looking plot into a vibrant, abundant and fertile veggie garden.
We made a start by digging up the first bit of soil. Luckily it has rained a few days prior, and the ground was pretty workable. Year 7 students helped during the week and our Bhutanese friends Chakra, Purna and Sukmaya on weekends. The work was hard and progress slow but two little miracles gave us wings:
Our supporters from Howlong Nurseries donated some seedlings which we promptly planted out in the first new beds. It rained again, the seedlings thrived and suddenly our plot started looking fresh and perky;
and
Annie and Phillip Randell, dear friends of my family (and parents of our former teacher Tim Randell), lent us a rotary hoe TO USE AS LONG AS WE NEED IT!! No more back -breaking digging with a spade or mattock !! Chakra became a bit unstoppable with it for a while.
My name is Helena Foster, I'm the slightly nervous author of the School Harvest blog site, nervous because I'm learning the fine art of blogging pretty much as I go. I'm driven by the fact that what we do is so exciting and so important, it needs to be shared. Formerly a garden specialist at WWPS Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden, I now conduct an intensive community garden program at Wodonga Middle Years College. I work with student volunteers 11 to 15 years old in order to teach them organic gardening skills which will hopefully enable them to make better lifestyle choices for themselves and their community in the future. I am thrilled to be part of the movement where schools take on the task of educating young generations about this most basic of prerequisites towards sustainable, food secure future.
School Harvest
School Harvest 
Wow! This is absolutely fantastic, Helena! Congratulations to you and all the students, parents and community members involved. As an educator for sustainability, I fully understand the importance and impact of projects such as this. I look forward to watching the progress of this project and participating where possible. Very exciting!
Thanks Alison
Can’t tell you how much we value your comment!