Learning to grow food
Brisbane Learning in the Garden Seminar 2009 – Growing Whole School Sustainability. September 14 & 15
The last few years have seen a groundswell in the development of school gardens for learning throughout Australia.
In Brisbane Growing Communities is one of several organisations around the country spear heading a movement that research suggests is profoundly changing the way many teachers work with the issues of sustainability, values, nutrition and wellbeing in their classrooms.
School food gardens instil valuable skills in growing and preparing fresh, healthy food, help students understand concepts such as food miles, the carbon cycle and local food, which will be crucial to their future, and have been shown to improve both behaviour and academic performance.
In Brisbane the annual Learning in the Garden seminar will be held over two days on Mon 14th and Tues 15th September at Griffith University Eco Centre and Northey Street City Farm.
Learning in the Garden is a two-day professional development seminar for teachers, parents and educators presented by local community organisation Growing Communities, a non-profit organisation working to assist schools and communities develop gardens for learning.
This year there is a focus on whole-school sustainability with a program that features:
· International and inter-state speakers
· Interactive sessions on planning, curriculum integration and more
· A tour of an established school garden
· Hands-on practical workshops
· Lots of opportunities to learn from others
For further information, please contact Giuliano at litg@growingcommunities.org.au or phone 0413 660 826.
To support this growing movement a new website has been set up to support educators throughout Australia.
It can be found at www.australianschoolgardensnetwork.ning.com.
