Growing School Community Gardens ~ Adult short course

A hands on experience for growing gardens for learning and play.

2010 Course dates to be confirmed.

Growing School Community Gardens is a short course developed by a partnership between the Royal Botanic Gardens and Cultivating Community with the intention to assist school communities in developing sustainable gardens that engage the school community.

The course is designed to provide resources that help deliver curriculum support, provide practical skills and inspire landscapes that provide meaning and connection for an integrated school community garden. Each session is about engaging in a fun, transformative learning environment with weekly hands on activities at various school garden sites, as well as amongst the inspiring gardens of both Royal Botanic Gardens of Melbourne and Cranbourne.

Location

The program will be located at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. Participants will visit inner Melbourne schools, community gardens and the new Australian Garden at Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne.

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Features

practical hands on experiences
easy to use resources
community engagement and capacity building
reinventing play and creative learning areas
pedagogy for outdoor learning
multiple venues and real life examples
inspirational speakers and specialist educators

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Outcomes

inspiring healthy food choices and lifestyles
fosters respect for the environment
provide nature based learning and experiences
enhance school grounds with edible gardens, create habitat and attract local biodiversity
contributes to whole school waste management program
cultivate practical life skills

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FREE Education Programs

The Royal Botanic Gardens is committed to making our education programs accessible to all students. We understand that program fees can be a significant barrier for some schools to visit the Gardens. To assist in overcoming this barrier, the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation provides financial support for eligible schools to participate in programs and activities at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Please contact the Education Office on 9252 2358 to see if your school qualifies.

Discover your Green Thumbs Careers at the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne

ADULT SHORT COURSES:
Growing School Community Gardens
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Rare and Threatened Species Education Program - Melbourne
RBG Melbourne has developed a new series of plant display beds to showcase our collection of rare and threatened Australian native plant species.
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Biodiversity Up Close:
An audit of biodiversity in the school ground.
13 student activities that can be conducted in schools with relevant VELS links and other background information. This unit supports the Biodiversity component of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative, Victoria.
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School Partnership Programs - Melbourne
School Partnership Programs generate opportunities for long term, ongoing learning experiences for schools.
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Teacher Professional Development
more information

Presenters

Cultivating Community

Edible Classrooms supports school communities to establish, develop and reap the benefits of productive food gardens. Taking a holistic and flexible approach and using environmentally sustainable practices, we work along side teachers and parents to integrate garden activities into the curriculum.

We are committed to involving students in meaningful, hands on learning activities in every aspect of the garden project. This includes planning, designing and construction right through to harvesting, cooking and eating.

Edible Classrooms is a not-for-profit service established especially for schools by Cultivating Community, a community based organisation specialising in sustainable community gardening and food security. To find out more visit www.cultivatingcommunity.org.au

Royal Botanic Gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne has a history of more than 160 years of providing education, inspiration and scientific research to the public of Victoria. The Gardens in Melbourne, the National Herbarium and the Australian Garden at Cranbourne are internationally recognised sites of horticultural and botanic excellence.

The education service promotes hands on, interactive exploration of the natural world through programs targeted at pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary programs.

Horticultural staff and RBG educators work together to provide authentic and transformative learning experiences.

Guest presenters

The Growing School Community Gardens course includes presenters who are experts in the fields of community engagement, horticulture and education.

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