By Mikayla van Loon
Getting out into the garden and learning to cook is a great deal of fun for the Grade 4 students at Birmingham Primary School in Mount Evelyn.
For seven years now volunteer kitchen gardener Alan Reidy has been passing on his gardening knowledge to the many students who have gone through the program with him.
“I have three grandkids who go here, the last one is [doing the session] with me today (1 August),” he said.
“I’m a keen gardener. I’m not a qualified gardener but I’m an ex-TAFE teacher so I like working with kids.”
Alan has become known as a bit of a “legend” around the primary school campus for his dedication, enthusiasm and humour in teaching the students about growing fruit and vegetables.
But like some good things, they eventually have to come to an end, with Alan preparing to step away from volunteering at the end of the year.
Learning specialist Jon Fry said Alan has been an integral part in engaging the children in the program but also creating a sense of excitement around growing fresh produce.
“We just want to, as a school, offer our thanks to Alan and recognise his contribution to our school and the legacy that carries on in the garden,” he said.
“It is something we’ll be thankful for moving forward.”
Helping grow a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs, Alan said sometimes the astonishment on the children’s faces when they realise how something is grown is one of the best parts.
“When we get some carrots growing and they pull a carrot out of the ground, they go ‘oh, look at that’.
“I tell them to go and wash it and to take a bite out of it and they go ‘oh wow’. Tomatoes when we get them going we see the kids walking around with a tomato like an apple.”
Not only is it about the end product but about how to nurture and care for the plants to get the best growth.
“Today we’re going to get the kids to turn over to the compost bins first,” Alan said on Tuesday 1 August.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to every classroom. We’ve got heated trays so we’re going to sow some seeds into some cells.
“They’re going to grow them in the classroom and then we’ll take them and put them in the greenhouse once they’ve established so the kids get to take a couple of tomatoes home.”
Alan said it can be quite obvious which students really enjoy gardening and those that don’t but either way he loves seeing who they are individually.
“[I enjoy] the personalities of the kids. You never find two kids the same. They’re all very, very different and the level of enthusiasm from day one to day 10 either grows or they just say ‘no I don’t want to do this stuff. It’s boring’.”
Jon said the semester-long program runs every fortnight with students alternating between being in the garden and then also in the kitchen preparing food with some of the produce.
Making sure everyone can participate fully in the cooking and eating, educational support staff member Katrina adjusts the menu to cater to all dietary requirements.
Dedicating the part of the Grade 4 learning to the kitchen garden program, Jon said is mostly because the foundational learning has been done which they can apply in a hands-on way.
“Upper primary gets very busy particularly with Grade 6, so there’s a lot going on and in the younger year levels there’s a heavy focus on learning around literacy and numeracy. So Grade 4 is just a really good age just for them,” he said.
“Developmentally as well, they’ve got the literacy skills, so they can write the recipes.”
Having had such a pillar for the program in Alan to come to the school each Tuesday and water the garden over the holidays, Jon said Birmingham Primary School will be on the hunt for a passionate gardener who might be able to take over next year.
If interested, the school can be contacted by calling 9736 3260 or emailing birmingham.ps@education.vic.gov.au
