Garden bloom

By Bridget Cook
A NEW program at Berwick Fields Primary School has given students an opportunity to bloom in both the kitchen and garden.
The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program that kicked off at the start of the year expanded last week with the installation of new compost bins.
The program is integrated into the school’s environmental program with students participating in a kitchen garden class each week learning the best ways to grow and prepare fresh food following organic principles.
Michelle Ferguson, one of the program co-ordinators and a teacher at the school, said the program had focussed on ways to save water and growing food in an environmentally sustainable way.
“They learn about positive ways to contribute to the health of the environment and how the health of the environment, in turn, affects them,” Ms Ferguson said.
Ms Ferguson said Hire-a-Hubby had generously donated time to build the new bins, which will help with the composting of garden, kitchen and lunch scraps.
“This will directly impact on the children’s learning about environmental sustainability, which is already a huge focus at the school,” she said.
This project has required the involvement of other community groups and businesses including Circon Commercial Construction and Project Management, which donated time to oversee the construction of the kitchen, and Berwick TEC students and staff, who helped build the garden beds.