Community spirit flying high at Berwick Fields Primary School

A Kitchen Garden School in Melbourne’s south-west this week harnessed some invaluable people-power through a kitchen garden working bee, stemming from Boeing’s Global Month of Service.

Boeing Australia, a partner of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, has provided support in the form of funding and volunteerism since 2011. More than 20 Boeing Aerostructures Australia employees swapped plane manufacturing for garden maintenance, planting and painting, all in the name of community service at Berwick PS on Monday, 27 July 2015.

The Boeing employees joined Berwick Fields students, and a few Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation staffers, to undertake a working bee in the school’s garden. Teams worked to refresh the vegetable planter boxes and prune the fruit orchards that supply the school’s kitchen, as well as plant some new native Australian trees to enhance the school’s wetlands. The volunteers also showed their creativity by decorating the planter boxes with their own creative murals and designs.

“We were really humbled by the way the school embraced our employees during the day, and it was rewarding for our Boeing team to support the community where we live and work,” said Mike Dickinson, managing director for Boeing Aerostructures Australia.

Berwick Fields PS, one of Victoria’s largest primary schools (with over 1100 students), has been part of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program since 2009.

“The program is a fantastic way to introduce our over 1100 students to fresh produce, teach them how it is grown and how to cook healthy, natural meals from an early age,” said Donna Egglestone, Berwick Fields PS’ Garden Assistant.

“It was fantastic for our staff and students to interact with Boeing employees and we were able to achieve significant progress in further developing the garden.”

Despite a few early morning showers causing some muddy obstacles, volunteers completed many gardening tasks together, as well as sharing a meal prepared by the students involved in the program.

The school’s motto is “Together We Achieve”, and that was certainly realised during the day’s activities.

The Foundation sincerely thanks Boeing for their ongoing, invaluable support of our work.

Are you interested in engaging your pre-school, primary or secondary school in conducting pleasurable food education? Good news, the new Kitchen Garden Classroom membership service is now active, making it easier than ever to set up a kitchen and garden at your school. All Australian students can now grow, harvest, prepare and share their own fresh, seasonal, delicious food with support from the Kitchen Garden Foundation.

Learn more about the Kitchen Garden Classroom - we’d love to have you on board.