Planting Seeds Of Knowledge

The Benarkin school garden is an outdoor classroom — not just a sustainable source of food but a rich educational resource as well.

- Sandra Tuszynska

Benarkin Primary State School, near Blackbutt, an hour-and-a-half north-west of Brisbane, has had a gardening program for eight years now involving an average of 24 students in classes K–6.

This beautiful and resourceful kitchen garden education facility is under the watchful eye of Chris James, a leading teacher aide and passionate folk artist, gardener and educator. Chris grew up on a dairy farm in Buderim and has always had a connection to nature and soil through gardening.

The school garden is a reflection of Chris’s wealth of horticultural knowledge. This school is incorporating the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program and received a $60,000 government grant to purchase raised garden beds, connect the garden to a drip-irrigation system and build a beautiful kitchen.

However, once the funding ran out, the program needed to sustain itself and currently the school is looking for sponsors to continue its success. In the meantime, the school asks for donations for its surplus produce, such as pumpkins, directly from the school and also at a local general store. On one occasion, the school also sold some donated chip bark to raise money; the rest was used to cover the pathways.

The school grows food in raised garden beds, which are connected to a rainwater tank, however Chris would like to reduce water use and is considering redesigning the garden beds to a self-watering wicking model. The school garden is a regular contestant at the Blooming Beautiful Blackbutt Festival, an annual weeklong celebration. According to Chris, “The school has been fortunate enough to win yearly awards at the Blooming Beautiful Blackbutt Festival.” Prizes include products from the Blackbutt hardware store, such as seed-raising mixes and organic fertiliser supplies, which help to support the school garden. The school also won several prizes for its vegetables, fruit and herbs at the 2015 Blackbutt show.