The 2016 VSGA grant applications are now open.  With a variety of categories to choose, schools may apply for more than one grant category but separate applications will be required and one grant per school will be awarded.

The procedure to apply for a grant is simple.  Complete the online 2016 Grant Application Form entering your school’s details and answering the five questions including a budget. You will need to create a login which allows you to save your grant application and return to it at a later date or submit your form upon completion. You will then receive confirmation that your Grant application has been received.

The Grants program has over $32,000 worth of grants to distribute to schools.   The grants come in the form of a voucher to be redeemed at a retail nursery which is a member of the Nursery & Garden Industry of Victoria (NGIV).

Wooragee Primary School is the recipient of the 2015 Kevin Heinze Perpetual Award for school garden excellence.

The late Kevin Heinze was the face of gardening in Victoria for many years, as host of his popular “Sow What” program. Now in its 38^th year the Victorian Schools Garden Awards (VSGA) are a direct legacy of Mr Heinze, and in 2015 the program distributed in excess of $40,000 in awards to winning schools. Wooragee Primary School is a tiny school doing amazing things.

With just 13 students the school has a garden class every week led by their 85 year old head gardener. They have a kitchen program where students learn the art of cooking and preserving the produce they’ve grown. The Award caps off an amazing year for the regional school located near beautiful Beechworth in North East Victoria who are renowned for being an environmentally friendly school.

Over 350 school children attended the Awards ceremony held at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens, on a day where Melbourne showed all four seasons in one but nothing could damped the spirits of the representing schools from all over Victoria, who had successfully navigated through rounds of judging in the various categories.

Through their enthusiasm and participation, 125 Victorian schools entered, reflecting the increased importance placed on the development of school gardens as teaching resources, and the value of green-space in creating healthy surroundings, conductive to learning and life.

Chris Keating from the Victorian Department of Education and Training presented the State Awards and Kevin Heinze Perpetual Award alongside Paul Crowe OAM, VSGA Patron and co-founder of the program.

For Award results, click here 2015 VSGA Award Winners

After a month of viewing and judging all 125 Award entries,  the VSGA committee is happy to announce the Regional Award winners for 2015 .

2015 VSGA Regional Award Winners

Finalist schools have now been contacted and have to wait until the VSGA Presentation Ceremony on 26^th November at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, to discover whether they have won a Category Award, State Award or the grand prize – Kevin Heinze Perpetual Award.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the schools who entered the Awards this year and encourage all those schools who were unsuccessful or who didn’t enter this year to start thinking about 2016.

This year’s VSGA grant applications closed on Friday 24th April. The VSGA received an amazing 230 entries from schools vying for 1 of the 8 grant categories available. As with last year’s entries, the judges were impressed with the quality of applications submitted and the amazing gardening projects proposed. Some categories proved to be more popular than others with edible garden and maintenance grants being highly sort after. It was extremely difficult selecting the successful recipients.

From the increase in grants submitted this year, it is clear school gardens are fast becoming seen as an important part of schools infrastructure, not only for appearance purposes but as outdoor classrooms. Once a place for  playing, school gardens now play a crucial role in hands on learning.

Whether successful or not, we hope all school garden projects will come to life and outdoor classrooms and classes continue to grow in all schools.  Please press here for the 2015 VSGA Grant Results.