Wesburn Primary School

I would like to take this opportunity to mention how fortunate we are to be running the “Go for Your Life Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program.”

We started this program in 2007 with funding provided by the state government under the “Go for Your Life” banner.  However, the initial funding amount has now run out, and it is up to our school to make the program sustainable into the future.

Our Principal and all of our staff realise how important the kitchen garden program is for our children so it is now funded directly from school funds.

We have seen over the past two years how this program is changing the eating habits of a lot of our children. We watch kids getting involved in and excited about gardening and cooking, knowing in our hearts that this is such a positive step forward for the future health and wellbeing of these children.

The world is changing, and one day we may not have the same structures in place that we have grown up with and have come to rely on for so many things in life. For example, the supply of food from all over Australia and right across the world to supermarkets and supply chains is not guaranteed in a future where the worlds resources are fast running out.

Peak oil and climate change are very real issues, and we would be naïve to assume that life as we know it will go on forever or even until our children reach adulthood.

The kitchen garden program we have running at Wesburn Primary School right now is one of the very real, grass roots ways we can tackle these bigger issues in order to impact positively on our children and their future livelihoods. If they can competently grow their own food and be confident about how to cook it, they have a big head start by having a ready supply of fresh food grown locally and a better chance at pursuing a healthy and happy lifestyle.

Sharyn Morrice

Kitchen Garden Coordinator