Posts

Little green thumbs having loads of fun

/0 Comments/in , /by

During the recent school holidays, our kinder aged children were encouraged to try out their green thumbs at out Mt Evelyn Children’s Centre. With the help of their educators they planted alfalfa seeds on wet paper in little cups, and beans and peas in pots and in our garden. When our kinder teacher came back at the start of term they had already sprouted, and the children were delighted to see the little seedlings get taller each day.

It didn’t stop there, last week they de-seeded the dried sunflower heads that they had grown last summer in preparation to plant. The children enjoyed getting their gloves on and pouring potting mix into the egg cartons that had been collected. Each having a go at planting some of the little seeds. They also planted broad beans a few months ago, and these are now growing beautifully in the tyres in our yard. They are flowering at the moment and the children hope to get some beans from them soon.

Using books, pictures and posters they discussed the life cycle of the sunflower, as well as other plant life-cycles at group time. The children have also enjoyed using these same materials to research, discuss different plants, and eventually they will decide what they will be planting in our plot in the community garden next door.

These activities all have connections to our Early Years Learning Framework, which is our guide in curriculum and programming. The areas this is described as incorporating are:

  • Community – exploring the relationships between living things and notice the changes that occur to them.
  • Learning – making connections between the processes of planting and having enthusiasm and confidence to take part.
  • Communication – contributing their ideas to the discussions. Overall it is getting children in touch with nature, and the joy of seeing and hopefully eating what they’ve grown.

UYCH Early Childhood Education and Care services have proven to be an excellent choice in the valley. Recently our Yarra Junction Children’s Centre received an accreditation of Exceeding by the Department of Education and Training. If you would like to know more about the accreditation and our services click the links below.

UYCH Children’s Centre – exceeds expectations
UYCH Family and Children’s Centre

Image of a little girl planting seeds
Image of a little girl planting seeds
Image of potted plants
Image of potted plants
Image of a little girl planting seeds
Image of a little girl planting seeds
Image of green growing in a tyre tube
Image of green growing in a tyre tube
Image of seeds ready for planting
Image of seeds ready for planting
Image of potted plants
Image of potted plants

A wander and a chat in the ECOSS gardens

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Last Wednesday I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit the UYCH Community College Horticultural Industry Taster course students at ECOSS in Wesburn. I found the students in the herb garden where they had just started a learning activity about biodynamic treatments for soil. The trainer explained, “The students need to mix the treatment by hand, stirring continuously for one hour, in order for the treatment to activate correctly.” Students who were not mixing, closely timed each person and swapped ‘stirrers’ after every five minutes or so.

David from ECOSS walked me around the property pointing out the fabulous activities that the students had completed and continued to tend to this term.

The main garden had an impressive compost production centre the students had helped to construct during the term; the rich compost has already been used on several of the ECOSS garden plots.

Not too far from the composting area there were newly constructed keyhole gardens. David and Shaun had the students experiment with either, a brick and concrete design or a rock and concrete design. Gardeners will now be able to reach all areas of the garden with ease, what a great garden design. There were even a few little vegies growing in the beds with some of the handmade, home (ECOSS) grown compost giving those little vegies an extra nutrients boost.

To the side of the keyhole garden beds, there was a bamboo pole tepee that measured well in excess of two metres.

David explained, “A few weeks ago the students planted snow and sweet pea seeds directly into some of the ECOSS made compost, which makes up the informal garden bed at the base of the teepee, and now the peas are climbing and weaving their way up the bamboo stakes. It really won’t take too long for there to be an entire canopy of snow and sweet peas covering the large framework. It sure will make for a brilliant little hideout for some visiting children to discover.”

David pointed me in the direction of the vegetable plot and left me to explore alone as it was his turn to mix the biodynamic treatment. I wandered over to the vegie plot where Glen, one of UYCH’s students, had just finished turning over an area of rich and very fertile soil. There were still some remaining winter vegies growing, which had lovely vivid colours of greens and purples. I’m certain, the last of the winter vegie crops, have by now made a welcome addition to someone’s menu creations.

I found my way back to the herb garden where the stirring and mixing had continued, along with lots of chatter and laughs from the students. I would have loved to have stayed all day and shared in their laughter and learning.  It definitely was a superb way to start the day with a wander and chat in the ECOSS garden.

Article by Nina Bekker – Team Leader Pre-Accredited

If you enjoy getting your hands dirty and working outdoors, then click here for further information on how UYCH can help you kick start a career in horticulture.

 

VCAL Students get the green thumbs up

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Supporting Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Living within UYCH – Introducing the UYCH Growing Community.

The UYCH Mt Evelyn Campus has launched its very own community garden with the vision and aim of providing a general garden space for our students and community members to create and maintain their own gardens.  We hope the garden will encourage sustainable and environmentally friendly living within our community and provide people with the opportunity to create and utilise a garden space that they may not have an opportunity to do so in their own home. It is also a great concept to encourage and promote healthy eating and activity within our organisation and local community.

Historically the garden operated under Morrisons, however in the change-over with UYCH the Community Garden program was left unattended.  This year, our VCAL landscaping class have been working tirelessly to tidy and clean up any over-grown areas so new members could start using the garden and planting their seeds for the season.

There are 8 plots in total, 5 large and 3 small with a wood-fire pizza oven on site that can also be used by members. The use of the garden has already proven popular with departments of UYCH and past garden users from the Mt Evelyn Community already expressing interest and booking their garden plots.

Our Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) kids and our VCAL students in particular have already hired plots and have been busy planning their garden projects.

Some of our VCAL students for example, are currently working on a Social Enterprise that link to their work related skills units, in this case they are using the community garden to run a plant sales Social Enterprise called ‘Jeffery’s Garden’.  The aim of the Social Enterprise program is to re-engage our youth with the community and give them confidence and leadership skills. Jeffery’s Garden will be selling winter seedlings to the local community in Term 3 and they hope to continue this enterprise into Spring and Summer.  They want to provide the community with healthy and fresh home grown produce with 50% of their profits going towards the Guide Dog Association and Animal Aid and the remainder going back into the business to keep it running.

To reduce costs they are using recycled pots which have been donated by community members and recently they received a $50 donation from Bunnings Warehouse. They are grateful for any community contribution and ask if you have something you think might be useful including sharing your gardening knowledge please consider their needs. If you have any old plastic soft drink bottles or plastic pots, we have arranged a drop off bin in the kitchen at the Mt Evelyn Campus, 20 Old Hereford Rd.

Here’s what one of our students have to say about having a community garden at UYCH and what it means to them:

“As a part of the gardening group I am gaining knowledge and skills on how to take proper care for plants. I am enjoying working with my friends and doing something that I feel passionate about”. Gillian – VCAL Student

This is a very exciting addition to the UYCH Mt Evelyn campus and our local community. We can’t wait to see what plants, fruit and vegetables start flourishing from the garden plots.

If you’re interested in becoming a plot user, please fill in your details on our expression of interest form to or contact 9736 1457.