On 21 November the annual Victorian Schools Garden Awards were presented at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. Wild winds and high temperatures forced the ceremony from the Oak Lawns to indoors Mueller Hall, with approximately 400 students from around the state, their teachers, parents, volunteers and sponsors, celebrating their gardening achievements.

Garden Celebrities, Costa Georgiadis and Jane Edmanson, were on hand to enthuse the crowd with their knowledge and passion for gardening, with Costa now being the program’s official advocate.

This year’s State winners included Footscray High School for its horticulture and sustainability campus, home to the school’s VET horticultural studies and a source of produce for its hospitality program. Melton Specialist School was another State winner whose gardens are crucial to the learning experience of students with special needs. Maintained by Horticulture Certificate 2 students, the rest of the school contributes art works to its outdoor areas.

Winner of this year’s Kevin Heinze Perpetual Award (the ‘Gold Logie’ of school gardening – and, yes, Costa did bring his along for show and tell!) was Noble Park Primary School. With its open spaces and lush gardens, students can participate in investigative play (which doesn’t exclude tree-climbing or cubby-building), scientific learning in their various outdoor garden and a kitchen garden which is especially popular within this multicultural school community.

Each year Victorian Schools Garden Program’s (VSGP) committee continues to be amazed at the high standard of gardening programs running in our schools. It is comforting to know that we have a new generation of young horticulturist caring for our planet, especially in this time when global warming is at the forefront.

Click here for a full list of the 2019 VSGP Awards Results

The Committee which oversees the program, recently signed off on a change to the logo and associated branding. The reason behind this change was to eliminate confusion that currently exists with the name Victorian Schools Garden Awards, because the program now includes a grants component as well as the awards themselves.

In an attempt to eliminate the issue while still retaining our heritage, the Victorian Schools Garden Awards (VSGA) has been changed to the Victorian Schools Garden Program (VSGP), including a modernisation of the logo which will gradually replace the old versions.

Grant applications closed late April and the VSGP Advisory Committee spent May reading and evaluating the 160 entries received from 110 Victorian schools. The 46 successful schools will share in $36,000 worth of vouchers and products to undertake their garden project or add to their school yards.

It’s never an easy task choosing the successful schools with so many high-quality entries for proposed garden projects. Many schools just missed out by only points.

The Maxicrop Edible Garden Grant remained our most popular category entry, with many schools wanting to either expand their current program to include more student participation or include a bush tucker garden to complement their Indigenous studies.

The highest number of product grant entries received were for the Warner’s Outdoor Common Room Grant ($2000 plant and tree supply) with schools seeing the value of including a shared outdoor space for health and well-being.

There is another opportunity for schools to receive funds or products for existing gardens, by entering the VSGP Awards. While assessing Grant applications we read about many existing gardens which could easily qualify for an Award. For more information on the Awards program please click here.

To view 2019 Grant Recipients.

This year the Victorian Schools Garden Program is trialing the inclusion of kindergartens. To be eligible the kindergarten must be formally connected with a primary school.

Kindergartens may apply for the Independent Schools Victoria – Sensory Garden Grant or enter an application for the Most Engaging Garden Award.

With 2700 kindergartens in Victoria, our hope is to expand the offer in the future to include all kindergartens.