Hands-on PD brings East Gippsland educators together

• Educators from East Gippsland came together in Swan Reach for a day of professional development in kitchen and garden education, supported by VicHealth. 

• The training built confidence through practical skills in lesson planning, cooking, gardening, and using Kitchen Garden Program resources. 

• Participants left inspired, connected, and ready to bring the Kitchen Garden Program to life in their communities. 

As part of our partnership with VicHealth, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation travelled to Swan Reach on 28 August to deliver a full day of professional development for educators in East Gippsland. 

Eighteen participants from across the region – representing early childhood services, primary and secondary schools, and the Moogji Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation – came together to strengthen their skills in kitchen and garden education. 

The in-person training facilitated by our professional development team, Kate Beckwith and Belinda Nowakowski, was designed to boost confidence in delivering pleasurable food education in diverse learning environments.  

Best of all, the day offered a unique opportunity for educators to connect, share local knowledge, and come away feeling supported and inspired.

Skills the educators took away 

• Core garden skills and strategies to run engaging garden classes for children of all abilities. 

• Core kitchen skills and techniques to deliver fun, inclusive kitchen sessions. 

• Lesson planning and sequencing skills, supported by the Foundation’s resources. 

• A vision for running a Kitchen Garden Program that benefits their whole community, along with clear next steps to bring it to life. 

In the garden 

Participants explored activities that can be adapted to any setting, including: 

• Making biodegradable newspaper planting pots and sowing seeds. 

• Planting out seedlings to get a head start on spring. 

• Creating leaf imprints using flowers and leaves from the school garden to promote art activities. 

• Learning a “compost lasagne” recipe to fight food waste in the school community. 

In the kitchen 

The group celebrated the veggie heroes of late winter with a shared cooking session to demonstrate our hands-on food education experiences that can be run in schools and early childhood services with minimal cooking equipment or kitchen space.  

Together, educators prepared a seasonal feast featuring cauliflower fritters with lime yoghurt, pasta with greens, and a seasonal salad. 

Resources and planning 

In both the garden and kitchen sessions, educators had the chance to explore the Foundation’s suite of resources, including the members-only Shared Table platform and the seasonal planner wheel. They were shown how these tools can help them quickly and confidently plan for the term ahead. 

Buckets full of inspiration 

It was an action-packed day of laughter, learning and idea-sharing. Participants left with inspiration to promote positive food habits with the young people they work with. They even took a native seedling back to their gardens, thanks to Moogji’s bush bank. 

Participants described the session as hand-on, interactive and engaging. 

“Thank you for bringing the learning to East Gippsland. Professional Development is not always accessible as we are far from Melbourne,” said one participant. 

Other educators mentioned they loved “being able to connect with other schools” and “the idea of helping kids get excited about growing and cooking food”. 

Opportunities for all 

VicHealth and the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation are partnering to ensure more young Victorians can develop lifelong skills and confidence in cooking and gardening through preventative, positive food education and the Kitchen Garden Program.  

This training was funded by VicHealth to enable participation from educators in the region. 

Interested in attending in-person training in your state or territory? We'd love to hear from you! Please contact Kate Beckwith at kate.beckwith@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au 

You can also join us online for a free Kitchen Garden Program Information Session on Wednesday 10 September for an introduction to pleasurable food education and the benefits of a Kitchen Garden Program membership.