Addington Green Team: Cosy Vege Garden

Friday, June 10, 2011

Cosy Vege Garden

The Green team has been busy cleaning up and tidying up various parts of the school garden.
Yesterday lunch time, the children from the junior classes harvested the last of the potatoes. Leek and potato soup is on the menu for next week. Yummy!
The children also spread compost over the vege beds, making the leeks, silverbeet, cabbage and bok choi cosy for the winter! More peastraw managed to make its way onto the grass, than the garden beds, but was soon raked into the right place!
Broad beans were sown for a delicious spring feast.

The Green team, and Vic Philips, (our new school caretaker) continue to spread leaves and grass clippings over the area for our new native tree zone. Pea straw for this area is still to come.

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About the Green Team

In the beginning….

The Green Team began at Addington School during 2008, with the aim of reducing waste throughout the school. The initial focus was on recycling of paper waste within each classroom.

Over the past two years, the Green Team has taken on the collection of materials for the compost, and the creation of four busy compost heaps. In addition three large raised vegetable beds have been built, filled with soil and our own compost, and produced a delightful supply of fresh vegetable treats for Green team members, and the whole school (eg Radish-o-Rama ( See Addington Article for some of those fun harvests)

We have developed a special friendship with the Strickland St Gardens who regularly come and help us out with advice, and who host us at their gardens for special demonstrations and celebrations.

The Green team also raised seedlings for the Addington Fair, donated Christmas potatoes to the City Mission, and to the Strickland St Gardens.

The excitement and passion of the children on the Green Team has so far driven the direction and projects taken on by this group. The group itself has grown in size over the past year, with more and more children wanting to be involved in activities.

Officially there are two representatives from each class to take on the compost and recycling collection, and then further members who participate during various activities. At last count, over one third of the children at school actively participate in the Green team over the course of a month. Involvement includes weeding (Rose or Vegetable gardens), sowing seeds, planting vegetables and flowers, Autumn leaf collection, walnut collection, compost collection, compost heap maintenance and turning, and harvest!!

Cooking our produce has been an unexpected spin off, with children trying their hand at preparing various dishes and sauces, using our own produce. We intend to add a recipe page to our blog.
The future….

Completing the vegetable garden mural (on Mr Sinclair’s caretaker shed) is high on our list for this year, however bad weather has slowed the process. The children have a design which is creeping its way across the wall, during fine Friday afternoons.

The Green Team have plans to make the Vegetable Garden area another learning space, complete with seating and fruit trees. This way children can watch and participate in a complete growing season. Lots of opportunities to initiate learning.

Other plans include further development of the Rose garden, areas around each classroom, and the office block.

We are keen to further develop our composting collection (foodscraps) with more detailed data on volumes collected, and volumes of compost made. Lots of ways to incorporate “measurement”!

The worm farm is also waiting in the wings, ready to be set up and maintained.

We have heaps to do……… so its time to get cracking!!