Victorian Schools Garden Program

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You are here: Home / News

Schools celebrate their 2019 gardening achievements

November 28, 2019 By admin_ginger

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

Filed Under: News

Rebranding of Program

July 2, 2019 By admin_ginger

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.

Filed Under: News

2019 Grant Results

June 11, 2019 By admin_ginger

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.

 

 

Filed Under: News

Green Connections Wows at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

April 30, 2019 By admin_ginger

Mulch sweeping was elevated to a fine art as the construction team competed with the impending dusk to put the finishing touches on playscape “Green Connections”.

Their tremendous efforts culminated in a feature garden that will stick in the minds of show attendees for years to come.

To say the garden was success would be a vast understatement. The joy it brought to show-goers was palpable through their wide-eyed stares of wonder upon arrival, expressions of joy and jubilant journeys through each of the garden’s many interactive features. It’s no surprise that many wished the garden remained a permanent fixture in Carlton Gardens.

A collaboration between RB Landscapes and the Victorian Schools Garden Program (VSGP), “Green Connections” captivated through its imaginative landscapes and opportunities for engagement.

Visiting each section of the garden was a pleasure in its own right, becoming a complete and robust experience when added to the surrounding areas. Bamboo-lined tunnels led to wetlands through which water was pumped by stationary bicycles and large steps led to a viewpoint where visitors could see log forts, tipis made of grass and boats sinking in water-resembling sand.

Every feature told a story and was visually stunning. It was a garden that was both encompassing and captivating, living up to its well-chosen name. It also educated and encouraged connections with natural materials.

Each section included signs explaining not only the purpose of the element, but also its educational, mobility and sustainability goals. They highlighted the concept behind each of the garden elements and contained a connected string of poetry on each sign, intended for the younger audiences to encourage them to visit each area.

We’re extremely pleased with “Green Connections” and the enormous amount of positive feedback that it generated from MIFGS visitors. A huge thank you to Richard Bellemo, the RB Landscapes construction team including Croxton Specialist School students and all the volunteers who were on hand throughout the week.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Victorian Schools Garden Program Gets Flooded with Enthusiasm

April 30, 2019 By admin_ginger

The Victorian Schools Garden Program (VSGP) marquee at MIFGS 2019 proved to be a roaring success. More than 800 school children visited the area in the NGIV Precinct – around 250 students per day.

These energetic days were full of workshops focusing on sustainable gardening and introducing children to fascinating critters that both swim underwater and buzz through the sky. The main feedback from teacher organisers and students was that they wished that their school groups could have stayed longer.

With the VSGP coordinator Tania Karamitos and a group of wonderful volunteers from Royal Botanic Gardens and students from St Louis de Montfort Primary School, school workshops ran throughout the show, complementing the adjacent “Green Connections” playscape with themes promoting a strong connection with and curiosity about the natural world.

These energetic days were full of workshops focusing on sustainable gardening and introducing children to fascinating critters that both swim underwater and buzz through the sky. The main feedback from teacher organisers and students was that they wished that their school groups could have stayed longer.

With the VSGP coordinator Tania Karamitos and a group of wonderful volunteers from Royal Botanic Gardens and students from St Louis de Montfort Primary School, school workshops ran throughout the show, complementing the adjacent “Green Connections” playscape with themes promoting a strong connection with and curiosity about the natural world.

Exploring mini beasts from the pond.

Minibeast ecosystems were fished from the pond behind the marque and children peeked through magnifying glasses in awe of their microscopic worlds. In the worm farm workshops, children sat with expressions of fascination (and sometimes disgust) as they learned about the different layers of worm farms and how to use both worm castings and juice to help their garden grow.

A potting station was available for the children to learn how to pot basil plants and take their new plants home to watch them grow and use in the kitchen.

Finally, the bee hotel workshop amazed, with children being taught by Marco Bellemo about the importance of pollinators and learning how to construct their own hotel to help support the bee population.

After enjoying the workshops, the children were encouraged to enjoy “Green Connections”, which was created through a joint partnership with VSGP and RB Landscapes. On any given day, strings of enthusiastic children could be seen among the many features of the garden, peeking through bamboo, climbing up logs, climbing up grass covered steps, and generally just having a pretty great time.

The area proved extremely successful and enjoyable for both young and young at heart, with children promising to bring their parents back over the weekend.  We sincerely thank all the volunteers who helped throughout the Show and all the sponsors who provided products and support to both areas.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Tania Karamitos
Program Co-ordinator
Victorian Schools Garden Awards
Phone: 03 9576 0599
Fax: 03 9576 0431
Email: vsgp@ngiv.com.au
 

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