Cultivating belonging

In a suburb north of Adelaide, a school has been designed around its garden. “It’s the heart of the school,” says Blair Athol North B-6 School Garden Specialist Thomas Hayward.

Spread over half an acre, the garden features raised beds, chickens and ducks, an aquaponics system with goldfish, a hothouse, rainwater tanks, fruit trees, and even an outdoor classroom complete with a pizza oven. Overlooking it all is an indoor kitchen with five cooking stations.

But this all didn’t happen in a day. The school has been a proud member of the Kitchen Garden Program since establishing its first beds in 2011, and has gradually added to them over the last 14 years. During that time, they’ve hosted one of the Foundation’s Delivering Kitchen Garden Sessions and even been featured on  ABC Gardening Australia.

A place where everyone belongs

Blair Athol North B-6 is one of the most diverse schools in South Australia, offering an intensive English learning program and welcoming students from more than 40 language backgrounds.

“Everyone, no matter where you’re from, eats food. And we can connect over this,” says Thomas. The pizza oven is a favourite gathering point. “Some students are very familiar with cooking with fire, and they relate to that.”

The garden is dotted with welcoming signs painted in different languages, and plant information is also translated. Thomas enjoys trying to grow herbs and vegetables familiar to the children, such as holy basil.

With a large Afghan community at the school, dishes like biryani and bolani are often on the menu. “The kids love it when we’re cooking this, but they’ll tell us it’s not as good as their mum's,” Thomas laughs.

Members of the Kitchen Garden Program can find our  Bolani katchalu (potato-stuffed flatbread) recipe on the Shared Table.

Learning by doing

Thomas looks after the garden sessions, while Kitchen Specialist Lisa Fox leads the cooking sessions. But in practice, the garden and kitchen sessions are blended together. “What the students are harvesting, they're using straight away. They're seeing that direct connection,” he says.

Every class, from Reception to Year 6, takes part in the program, with teachers linking activities back to the curriculum.

“We experiment here. We're growing coffee beans. We've grown one mango, and in Adelaide, that's not easy!  And lots of bananas and tropical fruits like guavas,” he adds.

Connecting with families and community

Parents are part of the garden story, too. Some volunteer at the school, and they’re all invited to harvest seasonal produce such as silverbeet, broad beans, and vine leaves for dolmeh.

The school holds biannual markets to sell surplus produce and donates to local cafés, which in turn support the school by sharing their commercial kitchens or donating fruit trees.

A calm and welcoming space

The garden is open at recess and lunchtime, giving students a place to wander, eat, and connect.

“Students often sit in a circle and share food from their lunchboxes,” says Thomas. “It's known that the garden is a calm, quiet space and that chasey doesn't happen here as it’s a space to make connections and find new friends.”

Staff are regular visitors too, popping down to pick herbs for their lunch or a lemon for tea.

The students each have their favourites to grow. For Year 6 students Emily and Sofia, it’s beetroot, for Vassan it’s tomatoes, and for Year 5’s Hossein it’s corn.

“I feel really good when I’m working in the garden and kitchen because it makes me feel calm and relaxed,” Hossein shares.

Medhi, in Year 6, loves planting, “because watching a plant grow is like watching your daughter.”

More than a job

For Thomas, the role is deeply rewarding. A horticulturalist by background, he has been at Blair Athol North B-6 School for a decade, after holding a similar role at another school.

“I just really enjoy working with kids,” he says. “They keep you honest and on your toes.”

Early in his time at the school, an injury meant he couldn’t be physically present, but he would still sometimes join classes via Skype, guiding students as they showed him around the garden and asked for help.

From the early days of a “very young garden” to today’s thriving hub, Thomas has watched the space grow alongside the children.

“Students have helped pave areas and build new garden beds themselves. Seeing that is really satisfying. I guess in a way, my work here is never done. But then again, it never is in a garden.”

Keen to kick-start the learning and community benefits of the Kitchen Garden Program in your school or early childhood service? Contact our Support Team, available five days a week on 1300 072 543 or membership@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au.