By ANEEKA SIMONIS
CARDINIA Shire youngsters are enthusiastically getting their hands dirty while learning how to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, seasonal food.
Students from Garfield Primary School, Berwick Grammar School Officer campus, St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, St John’s Catholic Primary School, St Clare’s Catholic Primary School and Officer Specialist School have jumped on board for a new kitchen garden program to help them learn about growing and preparing healthy meals.
The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program was launched at the Pakenham Community Garden on Tuesday 17 February.
Students Aaron, Briella and Ashrena from St Patrick’s Primary School were excited to take their food education outdoors and took in the fresh, crispy smells of the garden’s growing greens.
Mayor Leticia Wilmot said the garden would give students the opportunity to learn lifelong skills.
“Not only will the children dig deep learning about growing and producing healthy food, they will also get their hands dirty in the kitchen preparing healthy meals with that produce and get to taste their hard-work,” she said.
“This is not just great news for students, but also the staff at the participating schools. And when the students take their learnings home, it will be great for their families and the wider Cardinia Shire community too. I congratulate these schools for taking this opportunity to make a difference to the health of their students and their families.”
According to a health report released in May last year only 8.7 per cent of Cardinia Shire adults eats the recommended five serves of vegetables per day.
Just 37.3 per cent of children aged 0-16 ate the recommended amount of vegetables.
The Good Guys in Pakenham donated a mix-master for each school to use for the garden program as part of council’s Healthy Together Achievement Program.
