The 44th annual Victorian Schools Garden Awards Ceremony premiered on Thursday 2 December 2021. VSGP advocate Costa Georgiadis hosted the virtual ceremony and announced the winners with Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, James Merlino, congratulating schools, teachers, and students on their achievements in what’s been a very challenging year.
Mother of God School in Ardeer took out the top prize, the Kevin 
Heinze Perpetual Award in the 2021 Victorian Schools Garden Awards. The small school of 139 culturally diverse students, incorporates outdoor learning and garden projects into their curriculum with learning gardens next to their classrooms.
Students are involved in every phase of the gardening works, from concept, to design and implementation. The school staff have observed that this approach provides a sense of belonging for the students, as indeed does the community garden for the broader local community. The other state Awards winners, Camberwell South Primary School and Parade College, also boast garden programs that endorse community engagement and improve student learning outcomes, with meaningful hands-on learning opportunities in their gardens.
The VSGP applauds all schools that give their students the opportunity to engage in learning activities which are incorporate school gardens. We’re passionate about encouraging all schools to view their external environments as interesting and engaging additional classroom spaces to be utilise and to get involved in VSGP’s 2022 Grant and Award Programs.
We would like to thank the Victorian Schools Garden Program’s wonderful sponsors who recognise the benefit of involving students in outdoor learning, we greatly appreciate your support and contributions to the program.
Click here to view the 2021 VSGP Award Ceremony or a full list of all 2021 VSGP Awards results.