The VSGP Grants applications which were due to close this Friday 1st May, have now been extended until Friday 26th June 2020.

Due to the current circumstance of Victorian schools being closed to onsite learning for the majority teachers and students, the VSGP committee thought it would be best to extend the grants closing date to the end of Term 2. This means the successful schools will have funds available when schools return, to tend to their neglected gardens.

Now more than ever it is important for children to learn how to garden, not just for the ability of being able to grow your own food but also for amazing health and well-being benefits of stress release by connecting to nature and getting your hands dirty.

Despite the uncertain times for all of us, we are delighted that our Grants program will proceed this year. Now more than ever it is so important that children are given the opportunity to learn the skills and joys of gardening.
Providing students with opportunities to garden provides them with:

• active learning and development of lifelong skills
• connection to nature,
• stewardship of their school grounds
• health and well-being benefits of relaxation and stress reductions.

Now is the perfect time to plan garden projects for your school. When things do return to normal it would be wonderful to treat the outdoor space to some loving care and for students who have been stuck indoors to get outside and do some outdoors learning.

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