Shared Table Awards 2023

The event of the season has finally arrived! We’re very excited to bring you the Shared Table Awards for 2023. It’s been an absolute hive of activity on our online resource library and community hub, the Shared Table. In fact, we’ve seen the highest level of comments and activity since 2018! It’s been wonderful to watch how the Kitchen Garden Program has grown and flourished in schools and services across the country.

Cooking and gardening is rarely without a few hiccups here and there, which is why we’ve introduced a new category this year, called the ‘Wonderful Wobble’. We’ll never learn if nothing ever goes wrong, so this award is for members who experienced a ‘wobble’ in their journey but persevered. 

Staff Choice Awards

Here are the winners of our Staff Picks category, as voted by the staff in our Support Team. 

Header Image: Wendouree Primary School, Victoria. This image: Gladys Smith Early Learning Centre, South Australia

Staff Pick – Early Childhood

Winner: Gladys Smith Early Learning Centre, South Australia

Gladys Smith Early Learning Centre was visited by author Rosangela Garofalo Crispino, who helped staff and students make homemade pasta and bolognese sauce with tomatoes from the garden and eggs from their chickens. Students practiced their Italian skills and learnt words for all the ingredients and equipment they were using. What a fantastic combination of LOTE skills and the Kitchen Garden Program. 

St Arnaud Primary School, Victoria

Staff Pick – Primary School

Winner: St Arnaud Primary School, Victoria

One way to figure out your Kitchen Garden Program goals at your school or service is to write a Vision Statement and publish it on the Shared Table. St Arnaud Primary School did so earlier this year, outlining the purpose of their Kitchen Garden Program, how it’s integrated into the curriculum and introducing the team responsible for leading the charge. We’d like to celebrate the time and consideration that St Arnaud’s put into compiling this, and can’t wait to see how their vision will inform the unique way they use the Kitchen Garden Program to benefit their students. 

Staff Pick – Secondary School

Winner: Dungog High School, New South Wales

There’s nothing quite like the experience of freshly baked bread and Dungog High School got a taste of it when they made focaccia bread from scratch, using rosemary from the garden. Kneading dough has wonderful therapeutic, mindfulness and calming benefits and the end result is always a crowd pleaser. This school is new to the Kitchen Garden Program and they’ve been posting regularly from day one. It’s been a pleasure to watch their journey so far. 

St Joseph's Primary School, Queensland

Staff Pick – Wonderful Wobble

Winner: St Joseph’s Primary School, Queensland

Lessons in over-pruning were learned by St Joseph’s Primary School in August this year when they discovered they’d accidentally pruned too much of their tomato plants. Pruning the foliage on tomato plants can help direct the plant’s energy towards producing fruit, but too much pruning can stress the plant, leading to the risk of disease and low yield. Not to worry – these are the learnings!

North Melbourne Primary School, Victoria

Community Choice Awards

We’ve crunched the numbers behind the scenes and determined the most popular content and the most active schools and services using the Shared Table in 2023. Let’s hear it for the winners!

Most popular resource: Grants list

Most popular collection: Posters collection 

Runner up: Zucchini recipes collection (only 16 views behind)! 

Most popular recipe:  Indian flatbread

Making dough from scratch continues to be a popular choice for program members. It’s hands-on, science-rich and delicious!

Most popular garden activity: A tie between Newspaper planting pots and Garden treasure hunt. 

Most popular lesson plan: Hot compost

Most popular guide: Knife skills video demonstration

Most active user: North Melbourne Primary School, Victoria

Second-time winner of most active user, North Melbourne Primary School knocked it out of the park this year with 1,850 posts, likes and comments!

Highest number of posts: Wendouree Primary School, Victoria 

Most garden posts: Warrnambool East Primary School, Victoria 

Most kitchen posts: Wendouree Primary School, Victoria

A big congratulations to all the schools and services who featured in the Shared Table awards this year – and a massive thank you to everyone who posted, logged on, and accessed the resources. We can’t wait to see what you get up to next year!

Interested in joining the Kitchen Garden Program? Take a look at our membership options.

Already a member? Log on to the Shared Table to see what other schools and services are up to, and access the many resources available.