Recycling up the library bins!

Project Profile

Name of project:
Recycling up the library bins!

Name of group/s involved:
St. Albans Heights Primary School

State: Victoria

Corporate partners involved:
Yates

Date of project: 2015

Summary

Grade 3 and 4 students at St. Albans Heights Primary School upcycled library bins to create a new garden at the school. The project incorporated both the science and art curriculum through planting of the garden and the design of the bins. Students mosaicked the outside of the old library tubs, and planted native and flowering plants. The project utilised recycled materials to enhance the school’s environment.

Project Description

St. Albans Heights Primary School in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne has a population of 270 students with over 30 language groups represented. As part of the Junior Landcare program, the school revitalised a notoriously barren area of the school with mosaiced garden beds and native or flowering plants.
The starting point for the project was a number of library tubs which were to be placed in landfill. The students decided to reuse the tubs and turn them into garden beds. Old fence palings and recycled timber from the art room were used to created signage for the garden. Students used leftover tiles to mosaic the tubs. As a result, the school reduced the amount of items placed in landfill and taught the students how they can make a positive impact on the environment by using old things to create something else.

Art was incorporated into the project through the design of the garden beds. Students used colour theory principles and indigenous symbols to create a design to mosaic on the outside of the tubs. A range of natives and flowering plants were selected for biodiversity and aesthetic qualities. The students enjoyed participating in all aspects of the project, and were proud of their achievements. The highlights for the students were mosaicing the tubs and planting the gardens.

The project has kept the concept of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rethink in the minds of the students. They continue to talk about the project and are aware of the positive impact the creation of the garden beds have had on the environment. This is both through the reduction of landfill and increasing the biodiversity in areas of the school which previously struggled to grow plants. Students worked collaboratively to complete the project, which was unveiled to the school community at the school art show.

“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink at S.A.H.P.S.”

Photos / Media

Upcycled rainbow garden of succulents

Project Profile

Name of project:
Upcycled rainbow garden of succulents

Name of group/s involved:
Blackett Child Care Centre

State: New South Wales

Corporate partners involved:
Yates

Date of project: 2015

Summary

Blackett Child Care Centre has overcome some issues to use the Yates Creative Gardening Grant to create an upcycling tyre garden. The centre researched the most sustainable garden for the centre’s needs and decided on a rainbow garden of succulents.

Project Description

The Blackett Child Care Centre originally planned to create herb and flower gardens out of recycled pallets. The local council’s Sustainability Team had undertaken a similar project and found that pallet gardens dried out quickly due to the shallow soil. In order to combat this, the centre modified the project to upcycle tyres instead, and changed the flowers to succulents to reduce bees at the centre due to the risk of anaphylaxis. The pallets that were already collected were used as climbing frames for passionfruit vines and as a frame for holding seedling containers.

The children were much engaged in making decisions for our garden. In the conception of the garden, they talked about what colour to use for the tyres and where to lay them out in our big yard. The children were very excited when the painted tyres were ready and were all raring to help position the seedlings in each tyre. They proudly showed their families the end product during pick up time, mostly admiring the bright happy colours it added to the centre’s outdoor space.

The project aimed to increase the awareness of the children, their families and the local community of sustainable gardening and upcycling and repurposing materials readily available in the environment. The project has had some great environmental and educational outcomes, teaching the children valuable lessons in caring for the plants while building relationships with the community and other children at the centre. The succulents were selected for their colour, texture and leaf shape encouraging thinking and language skills.

“Blackett Child Care Centre creates a rainbow tyre garden that brought about collaboration, unity and beauty to their centre’s community.”

Photos / Media

Grow to Live – Live to Grow

Project Profile

Name of project:
Grow to Live – Live to Grow

Name of group/s involved:
St Agnes Catholic Primary School

Location: Brisbane

State: Queensland

Corporate partners involved:
Yates

Date of project: 2015

Summary

In 2015 the St Agnes Catholic Primary School in Brisbane, QLD received $980 funding for a multi-faceted gardening and sustainability project, dubbed the “Grow to Live – Live to Grow project”. The project involved the construction of two worm farms, 5 organic vegetable gardens and a vertical vegetable garden. This Yates grant allowed children to interactively learn about the importance of environmental stewardship, waste management, recycling and organic gardening.

Project Description

The Grow to Live – Live to Grow project was split into two stages. Phase one involved worm farming and organic vegetable gardens. Phase two involved education about and construction of vertical garden beds.

In phase one, prep and grade 1 students learned about worm farming, the diet of worms, how they live and breed, and how to care for them. Students and teachers constructed two farms with 1000 worms plus castings, and placed appropriate waste into the farms. Over the school holidays, 240 children at the Outside School Hours Care/Vacation Care looked after the worm farms. The worm urine is continually being collected and used for the organic vegetable garden beds.

Furthermore in phase one, grades prep, 1 and 5 also cultivated, mulched and planted 5 organic vegetable garden beds with produce such as Bok Choy and Watermelon. The students really enjoyed learning how to break up the soil and nourish it with compost and mulch. Additionally, children studied ways in which weeds and other environmental pests can be managed in their organic vegetable garden beds.

In preparation for phase two, grade five students learned how to make a vertical garden bed. Students each made their own cut out recycled milk bottle container ready for hanging on the wall. They planted vegetables in the containers and asked to take them home over the Christmas break and to bring them back next year.

Phase 2 of the project commenced on schools return in 2016, with the construction of a vertical wall placed on to the fence and looked after by the grade five students. The vertical wall garden framework was composed of recycled materials. Students in different year levels learnt about plant anatomy and botanical life science.

The Grow to Live – Live to grow project has certainly had an impact on the students. Many of the children were unsure of handling the soil and the worms at first, but quickly become involved and enjoyed the experience.

During the project students learned about the importance of environmental stewardship, waste management, recycling and organic gardening. There was a notably improved environmental attitude amongst the children with children particularly cultivating a love for learning how the insects and worms in the garden fit in with the ecological environment. There was a lot of teamwork and communication and it was clear the children enjoyed working and learning side by side with each other.

“Ooh, these worms are icky, but I really love them very much”.

– Said by a prep child who would never have touched worms prior to our Project, but who ended up holding and patting the worms.

“We believe that the project is teaching the students teamwork, responsibility for the environment, nutritional education, promotes leadership and will, over time as the project carries forward, improve their food consumption choices. They will be able to sample all the vegetables and fruits that they are growing at school.”

– Frances Fernandez of St Agnes Catholic Primary School

Photos / Media