Victorian Schools Garden Program Grant

We have secured a Victorian Schools Garden Program grant to create a compact Indigenous edible plant garden in 2021/22.

Ripponlea Primary's Green Team & Sustainability Committee - a collective of parents, students, and educators - have proudly secured a Victorian Schools Garden Program grant to create a compact Indigenous edible plant garden in 2021/22, The VSGP recognises the importance of outdoor spaces in progressive modern learning. 


This new bush foods garden will be a leap forward for our little urban school, in growing our green spaces, and inspiring and strengthening a more meaningful connection with outdoor learning and our commitment to sustainability and the environment. It will be immeasurably valuable to the educational landscape and wellbeing of our whole school community. Not only are these green spaces educational but they also have an important role socially as vibrant gathering places. There are so many benefits to be gained, from learning about plant selection and understanding the significance of these plants from a historical, cultural, and environmental perspective, to creating and caring for new habitats and biodiversity, and (bush) foods grown, prepared, cooked and enjoyed. The location of the proposed garden is only a hop, skip and jump away from our Snack Shack canteen and kitchen where kids can extend their connection with these bush foods through experimenting with these unique ingredients, cooking...and consuming! Pop up market stalls will also be held as often as possible, where students will sell the produce they've grown.

Through our bush foods garden project, we aspire to:
Increase students opportunities to learn, explore and engage with nature.
Explore the aesthetics and function of design/ landscape architecture.
Learn about indigenous plants and how to grow, harvest, prepare and enjoy bush foods.
Increase students' awareness and understanding of sustainability and the environment, and the importance of things like water management and benefits of growing Indigenous plants.
Learn about, respect and nurture biodiversity.
Offer young people the opportunity for leadership, responsibility and personal growth as environmental citizens.
Deepen students' understanding and respect for First Nations culture, past and present.
Learn from and collaborate with knowledgeable local community members.
Appreciate hands-on learning and being outdoors.
Enjoy inquiry and research.
Increase school pride and interest in learning.
Teach students to tune in to themselves and how to care for their own, and others wellbeing, through a relationship with green spaces.
Learn to respect and care for our planet.
Work well in teams, with a genuine and generous respect for each others' ideas.
Transfer all this learning to families and the wider community.

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