Program philosophy

Kitchen Garden Recipes

Volunteering

Sponsors

Kitchen Garden Program

Yarra Primary adopted the innovative Kitchen Garden Program in conjunction with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation in 2007 following the designing and building of the garden and the refurbishment of the kitchen. The benefits to the students, school and community have been vast and varied in line with the philosophy of this wonderful initiative!

The program enables students across Years 3 to 6 to spend one hour in the garden followed by two hours each fortnight in the kitchen preparing and sharing meals created from their produce. The program is a key subject at Yarra Primary and is embedded into the curriculum through Science, English, Mathematics, Health and Physical well-being, SOSE (Studies of Society and the Environment) and LOTE (Languages other than English). Through their experiences and learning in the Kitchen Garden Program students are encouraged to further develop their understandings through the use of Information Technology, research and thinking skills.

The students are experiencing holistic, real-life learning in the garden and the kitchen with their teachers, working in teams with support from the valued volunteers and two specialist staff in the garden and the kitchen.

Children participating in the Kitchen Garden Program are experiencing an enjoyable and positive learning environment in which they:

• Learn new skills in both the garden and kitchen classes
• Identify and understand seasonal plants from the garden and their connection to the kitchen
• Experience new flavours and culturally enriching connections
• Build a strong relationship with the land and sustainable practises
• Develop responsibility for their through expressing an interest in gardening and cooking at home
• Working in teams

PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY

• We stress pleasure, flavour and texture by encouraging talk and thinking that uses all of the senses.
• We do not describe food to children using the word 'healthy' as the main descriptor.
• We reinforce techniques over and over so that the children are actually able to cook simple dishes or plant seeds at home.
• Menus are planned around seasonal availability.
• We seek to expand the culinary horizons for children and present cultural differences as fascinating rather than strange.
• We seek to expand the children's vocabulary for describing flavours and textures and plant families and names.
• We use fresh ingredients at their peak – for example, herbs should not be past their season, beans should not be overgrown and tough.
• The garden crops underpin kitchen planning – lots of basil is likely to lead to a pesto-making session; lots of green tomatoes to chutney or pickles.
• Menu planning will take account of growing timelines.
• Everyone comes together around a table at the end of the cooking to share the meal.

There are two unique factors about the kitchen garden program. The first is the intrinsic link between the garden, the kitchen and the table. The emphasis is on learning about food and about eating it. No part of the Program can exist without the other. The second is the project is embedded in the curriculum. It is a compulsory part of the school's program for four years of a child's life.

In both the kitchen and the garden the children work in small groups with the support of a volunteer under the supervision of the specialist and the classroom teacher (the average class sizes range from 20 to 30 students; there are usually 4 – 5 volunteers per class).

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KITCHEN GARDEN RECIPES

Kitchen Garden Recipes from the kitchen of Yarra Primary, prepared with many ingredients harvested from the vegetable garden.

VOLUNTEERING

We welcome volunteers from the school and community, and our volunteers find it fun and interesting to work alongside the children.

Download the  Yarra Primary Kitchen Garden Volunteers Information Kit.

To volunteer: Kitchen volunteers can contact Maree Cann (kitchen specialist) 9428 3286 Garden Volunteers can contact Jude Sullivan (Kitchen Garden Co-ordinator/garden specialist) 9428 3286 or email: sullivan.judith.m@edumail.vic.gov.au

We also wish to say a big thank you to all of our current and past volunteers, who have made the program such a success.

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SPONSORS

We are looking for other sources through the generosity of local businesses and through fund-raising, or donations.

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