East Bentleigh Primary School

Great day of diversity at East Bentleigh Primary School - the school has a warm, inviting and relaxed atmosphere and a true sense of community!
I began my day in the garden with a group of Year 5s who were undertaking various maintenance projects: constructing a brick and cement wall, mulching pathways and adding straw to garden beds. My lucky day...students with autism from a nearby school joined the class for its weekly session...a fantastic opportunity for me to see social integration in action!
My second garden "assignment" was with a group of Year 3s - our mission was to harvest produce for a "salad of inspiration." Baskets in hand, we set off to collect silver beet, spinach, rocket, mint, thyme and some lovely little edible flowers. Kyle, my new found vegetarian friend, and I had a great conversation about raw foods, what it's like to be vegan in a meat eating world, how to not insult meat eaters and what to order in a restaurant...all from a 10 year old!
Rain and wind held off for my last session in the garden, again with a group of Year 5s. We literally dug into our task of digging out plants and potting them for future sale in the school's market.
Moving into the kitchen, Nicki welcomed me and offered me the option of facilitating the salad or the brownies. Despite my insatiable sweet tooth, I opted for the salad group (I seem to have some difficulty with getting measurements correct when baking). A small class, we split into three groups to make a salad, potato pancakes (latkas) and gluten free brownies. For a school in its first year of the SA program, I'm so impressed by the level of commitment and the structure in both the kitchen and the garden!

Worth Mentioning:
EB has chooks, as do many of the schools I've seen. However, these little guys and gals have free range of the school grounds (and sometimes make appearances in classrooms, I hear).

EB hosts a weekly market with organic produce, treats and crafts. Proceeds go toward special projects. Kudos to a successful fundraising venture!

Thanks so much to Deborah, Sandra and Nicki for sharing their time, knowledge and resources. I need another full week here in Melbourne to visit all of the places that they mentioned!