{"id":892563,"date":"2026-09-15T06:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T06:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/892563\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T06:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T06:24:16","slug":"one-of-australias-best-kitchen-gardens-belongs-to-a-primary-school-with-only-seven-students-australian-lifestyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/892563\/","title":{"rendered":"One of Australia\u2019s best kitchen gardens belongs to a primary school \u2013 with only seven students | Australian lifestyle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The garden at Springhurst primary school, in north-east regional Victoria, never stood a chance against the record-breaking heatwave<\/a> at the beginning of this year. Returning to school after the summer holidays, teacher Aasta Dearnaley recalls the garden had \u201cturned to ash\u201d. But eight months on, students have created a more heat-resilient garden which has been recognised as one of the country\u2019s most innovative by the National Kitchen Garden awards.<\/p>\n

Developed by the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, the awards celebrate kitchen gardens in schools and early childhood centres across the country, with this year\u2019s awards attracting a record 600 entries over nine categories.<\/p>\n

The garden at Springhurst primary school \u2013 population seven \u2013 won the \u201cshowcasing Stem\u201d award for demonstrating the use of science, technology, engineering and maths in problem solving. Students repurposed old materials into growing structures, such as using fallen branches to create frames for broad bean plants. Students also learned about water efficiency through a capillary action experiment, and helped install a water-wicking system for their herbs.<\/p>\n

\u201cStem comes naturally within the garden,\u201d says Dearnaley. She adds that the problems that arise in the garden \u2013 such as crops failing to germinate or a plant toppling over \u2013 encourage student curiosity and experimentation.<\/p>\n

Springhurst primary students learning about water wicking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud because this award isn\u2019t just recognising, like, a beautiful garden \u2026 it\u2019s recognising the thinking and learning that happens with our students,\u201d says Dearnaley.<\/p>\n

The garden at Wongan Hills district high school in the wheatbelt region of Western Australia, has won the \u201cbeyond the gate\u201d award for community engagement. The school, which has 199 students, has experienced a decline in parent participation over the years. But the garden has \u201cchannelled parents into wanting to keep being involved with their children,\u201d says Lorraine Lobo, teacher and school garden coordinator. Parents are regularly out in the garden teaching students how to cook with produce or helping with small infrastructure projects. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a great equaliser,\u201d Lobo says.<\/p>\n

Additionally, time in the garden is used as a reward for good student behaviour. \u201cThere\u2019s something that\u2019s \u2026 freeing about being in a garden,\u201d says Lobo. And students have made, packaged and sold products such as lavender balms, calendula salves and quandong jams at their local markets.<\/p>\n

Kids in the garden at Wongan Hills district school.<\/p>\n

Aldavilla public school on the New South Wales mid north coast received the \u201crecipe of the imagination\u201d award for inventive cooking. The school kitchen, a converted railway carriage, is surrounded by a rainbow of garden produce ranging from zucchinis and pumpkins to bananas and feijoas.<\/p>\n

But the star crop is the warrigal greens. The native vegetable was at first only planted to replace snail-ravaged spinach, but is now used in pastas, pizzas and a special dip in the school kitchen.<\/p>\n

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Pots of warrigal greens.<\/p>\n

Craig Stelmack, the school\u2019s kitchen garden specialist, says he loves watching the kids talk each other into trying new food \u2013 he \u201cdoesn\u2019t have to do any sales pitches.\u201d When the students are in the garden, \u201c[they\u2019re] excited to have a task and to accomplish it. \u2026 They\u2019re excited to see something grow,\u201d Stelmack says.<\/p>\n

The awards were established in 2024, and this year\u2019s judging panel was comprised of chefs Stephanie Alexander, Kylie Kwong and Darren Robertson, and gardening expert Connie Cao. The winning schools will each receive a prize package that includes a $1,000 grant, membership to the Kitchen Garden education program and gardening tools and equipment.<\/p>\n

Stelmack plans to use the prize to establish another garden bed, an outdoor classroom and a native beehive, while Dearnaley is bracing for more extreme summers and will be investing the grant money in more wicking systems. For Lobo, she\u2019s looking to continue building community participation \u2013 and hopes families who live close by can help water the garden over the holidays.<\/p>\n

National Kitchen Garden award winners 2026<\/p>\n

Beyond the Gate, award for community engagement \u2013 Wongan Hills District high school, WA<\/p>\n

First Nations Foods, award for incorporating First Nations knowledge systems into garden learning \u2013 St Mary\u2019s College P-12, WA<\/p>\n

Kitchen Garden Trailblazer, award for outstanding volunteer, educator or staff member \u2013 The Village School Gold Coast, Queensland<\/p>\n

Recipe of the Imagination, award for inventive cooking \u2013 Aldavilla public school, NSW<\/p>\n

Showcasing Stem, award for real-world application of science, technology, engineering and maths \u2013 Springhurst primary school, Victoria<\/p>\n

Sustainable Solutions, award for sustainable garden and kitchen practices \u2013 Bungwahl public school, NSW<\/p>\n

The Art of Kitchen Gardening, award for creativity around the garden \u2013 Manning Gardens<\/a> public school, NSW<\/p>\n

The Next Crop, award for young leaders in the kitchen or garden \u2013 Alawa primary school, NT<\/p>\n

Wellbeing Champions, award for improved student wellbeing \u2013 Devonshire Street children\u2019s centre, NSW<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The garden at Springhurst primary school, in north-east regional Victoria, never stood a chance against the record-breaking heatwave…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-892563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}