Earth Hour and Sprouts

Welcome to another Burpengary Green Gardens update.

At 8:30 pm, 26 March 2011 lights go off for Earth Hour.

This phenomenon was started in Sydney in 2007 when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2000 businesses turned their lights off for 1 hour to take a stand against climate change. On Saturday 27 March, Earth Hour 2010 became the biggest Earth Hour ever. A record 128 countries and territories joined the global display of climate action. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Asia Pacific to Europe and Africa to the Americas switched off.

2011 has seen even more countries, businesses and individuals pledge their support for this chance to help the planet.

This year wouldn't it be great to go beyond the hour and make a change in your lives that will benefit the entire planet. So after the lights go back on, think about what else you can do to make a difference.

Together our actions add up.

This  week it was the Year 5 children who commenced their kitchen garden project. Each class has a sprouting kit and have now started the process of germinating their seeds.

I brought along a couple of already prepared sprouts for the children to see and to taste. Most kids were keen on the alfalfa, but were not too fussed on the mung beans. I explained that by themselves these can be quite bland, that is why we are using a blend of alfalfa, wheat, mung beans, radish and fenugreek seeds. This gives the mixture some extra "bite" to it. If going by the children's reaction, the fenugreek seeds were a winner in the mix. Just the aroma of them had the kids taste buds in overdrive.

The kids made sure they had the correct mix of seeds,

Stacked the trays,

Then added water to encourage their seeds to sprout.

I mentioned last week that I would post the recipe for the sprouts the kids are growing. Here it is below.  You don't need to have a kit like the kids have used, a large glass jar will do the job.

GROWING SPROUTS

                    Sprouting Mix

                    Ratio of mix is comprised of

4                 alfalfa

1                 wheat

1                 lentils

1                 radish

       1                 fenugreek

          1                 mung beans

The first thing you need is a glass jar, ideally with the opening at the top slightly smaller than the bottom. Ajar approx 20 centimetres high by 15 centimetres in diameter is ample.

The only other pieces of equipment you will need are a strong rubber band, and a square of fly screen gauze, preferably made of nylon for easier use and cleaning.

Growing

The first step is to soak the seeds (approx 3 tablespoons) in the jar for 3-4 hours, or overnight.

After soaking, the gauze is secured over the mouth of the jar and the water is emptied out.   At least 3 or 4 good rinses with fresh water are necessary to remove any of the old residual water. All the water is then drained off completely and the seeds gently rolled around so they spread over the entire inside surface of the jar, to which they adhere quite easily.

The jar is now left in a light place  --  but NEVER in direct sunlight.

Rinses such as these are repeated twice every day, always making sure to rinse well and drain the water completely before returning the jar to its position.

Within a week the sprouts will have germinated and are ready for harvesting.

Rinse the sprouts 3 or 4times and place the sprouts in a salad spinner and spin all excess water from them.

Store in a sealed container in the fridge where they will keep for about a week.

The Worms Have Arrived

Latest news to report is that the the Year 4 children have all got worms. They have Red Wrigglers, Blue Worms and Tiger Worms. At least there is no need to panic. All worms are well and truly being looked after by the keen worm farmers.

The children went through the process of assembling the

worm farms, starting by locking in the legs onto the base.

Once that was completed they placed wet newspaper

 down as bedding for the worms and to stop the worms

 from falling through into the bottom tray.

Next came the exciting part for the kids. Their first chance to sight

their worms.

 All the children handling the worms, both while setting them up and when they feed them daily will be wearing gloves. The importance of this is twofold. It is important from a hygienic side. Washing of hands after they have finished has also been stressed. 

The other reason for the gloves is for the health of the worms. Coming in contact with human skin is not healthy for the worms.

Once the worms had been removed from their box, the children then helped settle them into their new home

After  settling into their homes they were fed and then finally put to bed to have a good night sleep.



It won't be long before the children are collecting litres of great liquid fertilizer for the garden.

To Other News:

The Year 5 children begin their projects for the garden. In Science they are doing a unit called Plants in Action. As an add on to this unit they will be growing sprouts for the tuckshop and eventually for the kitchen as well.

I will post photos of the children starting their sprout gardens and also a very easy method to grow your own sprouts at home.

Until next week,

Stay safe and enjoy life,

Ross Tattersall

A Great Week for Year 4

What a great week for myself and for the Year 4 children. I spent time with each class during the week introducing them to their worm farms. We discussed what they already new about composting worms, what they would like to know and how they were going to care for them.
The knowledge that some children had on worms was amazing. When you have children talking about the anatomical parts of the worms and how they breed, is a sign that these kids are switched on to nature and our environment. All the children were aware that these worms can go a long way in helping us reduce our waste and the importance of symbiotic relationships within nature.
We looked at the physical requirements for the worms and how we can keep them healthy and  safe. It is very important that the farms are well away from sunlight and from sudden variations in temperature, so the children are very happy with the spot chosen for their 'homes'.
The children are very aware of what these worms can and cannot have, so I'm sure there will be some very interesting discussions for the first couple of weeks as the worms are fed.

In other areas of the kitchen garden project, we are almost ready to start to fence off the designated areas for the gardens and the chicken run.
Teachers are discussing in year level meetings and with me, as to what the children will be growing and what they will be cooking once the kitchen is commissioned.
A priority of the program is to keep cooking costs as low as possible. This means that the majority of ingredients must be sourced from the garden. To make this possible we must look carefully at what is in season, what it can be used in and is it suitable for the children to cook. Like any new project we will be starting with the basics and working up to the complex as we all become familiar with the garden and the kitchen. This is going to be a giant learning curve for all involved.

I have many organic gardening books and recipes books that are specifically designed for projects such as this schools. If you are interested in browsing through any of these, come and see.

Next week I will post photos of the children setting up their worm farms.

Until then

Stay safe and enjoy life.

Ross Tattersall

Things Are Starting To Happen

Welcome to this weeks update.
You may not see it happening, but projects are getting under way around the school. This is the first signs that the Kitchen Garden is on its way.
The Year 4 children are the first to start a component of the garden. Starting on Tuesday 8 March, each Year 4 class will have a worm farm to look after. They will be involved in the setting up of each farm and be learning how to care for and maintain a very important part of the garden program.
Working with the worm farms will involve looking at the needs and requirements of the worms and how we at school can deliver those requirements.
The children will be establishing seperate refuse bins for food scraps that are suitable for the worms. Eventually when the chickens are on site, any suitable leftover scraps will be able to go them as well. Other unsuitable scraps will go into our composting bins, so that will also eventually be returned to the gardens.
Within weeks of establishing the worm farms the children will be collecting liquid fertilizer. This is one of the best forms of fertilizer, as it can be used at full strength or diluted with water. It is safe to use on all types of both indoor and outdoor plants as it does not burn the roots or leaves and is 100% organic. Eventually the children will also be able to collect the worm castings (solid waste matter) and use it around their plants.
Already I have heard how keen both the children and the teachers are to start up their garden project.
To other areas of the Kitchen Garden.
The constructrion of the kitchen is almost to lock up stage, so it won't be long before we are able to move into it and start cooking.
After the Parent nights, we had so many people offer their assistance in helping out with enclosing the vegie garden and chicken run. Once we have a start date for that we'll be asking for volunteers to assist in that project.
I am meeting with teachers over the next couple of weeks to plan out a cooking/gardening overview. As that is developed I will update you on what will be involved in that program.

Don't forget that Sunday is "Clean Up Australia Day." If every one did the right thing at the time there would be no need to have this day.  Se what you can do on Sunday and for every day that follows.

Until next week

Stay safe and enjoy life.

Ross T

What's Happened This Week

Thank you to all the people that have offered support and encouragement to the school in what it is doing in this Life Skills program. The feedback from parents at the two, Parent/Teacher nights has been overwhelming.

This week has been a productive one. The kitchen floor plan has been finalised, so its now time to investigate what white goods are best suited to the school's needs.

When you see the finished product I think you'll agree, the children will have a wonderful space to work in.

The work shed has started to be cleared out in preparation for its overhaul into a comfortable chicken coop.

Many people have asked what shape and form the vegetable garden is going to take.

The plan at the moment is to have all garden beds raised. Some of these will be the curved corrugated iron type that are available from Bunnings etc. We plan in using these to plant the many different types of herbs that we'll be growing.

The second type will be constructed from straw bales. There are many advantages to using this type of garden bed.
The first  is that they are easily relocated if the need arises. Secondly once they start to break down after approx 12 months they can be replaced with new ones and the old ones are used as mulch to replenish the new gardens. Thirdly, the width and height of the bales is ideal for the children. They are at their height for bending over to reach their produce and it gives the children a place to sit while they are working.
Other advantages are it's a "no dig" garden. This allows planting to begin without a lot work being done on the soil.

Before the soil goes into the garden, mulch, garden scraps and kitchen scraps can be placed into the base to give a natural layer of organic compost.

The soil is then placed over the top of this and the garden is

 ready for planting. The depth of the beds give enough room

below the surface for crops such as carrotts, potatoes etc. to grow.

Very soon after planting, our garden will start to look like this.

Hopefully that has given you a better idea as to what will be taking shape in the near future.

If you have any more questions or would just like to follow the blog, please do not hesitate to join in.

Until next week,

Stay safe and enjoy life,

Ross T

Welcome to the First posting.

This will be the first of many postings that I will be making to keep the community informed on the progress of Burpengary State School's Green Garden Project, the chicken run, the kitchen  and the Life Skills Program.

Over the coming months you will see how the gardens are taking shape and as the kitchen comes on line, I will be updating you on what's happening there, as well as recipes of what the children have been cooking.

This first week has seen a lot of behind the scenes preparation. There  are plans to draw, development applications to make and quotes to be gathered for fencing, gates and other necessary items needed to be acquired before the first sod of dirt is turned.

Already we have had parents from the school offer their services and valuable infrastructure, that will ultimately make this project a resounding success. To those parents, a big thank you!

For those that are not familiar with the layout of the school, the photo at right shows where the garden will be situated. It is protected in the east by the P & C wall (great for winter heat retention and radiation) and surrounded by the Year 3 classrooms, the library and (what will be after construction of the new classroom block) the LOTE rooms. As you can see we won't have a shortage of water with that huge supply sitting at the far end of the garden. This whole area will be fenced to deter unwanted visitors.

Down near the Prep/Grade 1 play area is going the chicken run. We hope to have approximately 30 chickens. I'm sure that the Preps and lower grade children will fall in love with them.

There is a lot of work to be done before they arrive. We already have, what will be their coop, but it needs some major renovations to make it habitable. There is also fencing to go around it and a roof to go over the top of the entire run.

All this will take time and effort but in the long run, what an asset for the children.
Once this program is up and running at full speed, all children across all year levels will be involved.
To make this successful the children need to take "ownership" of this project. To make it even greater the Burpengary school community needs to also take on board ownership.
As the program builds up the school will be asking for volunteers to help in the construction side of the gardens. We will be asking for helpers both in the garden and in the kitchen.
A couple of hours of either your time or some resources will make a world of difference I can think of no better way to support your children's school  and claim your ownership on a small part of this exciting project.
Please give me your thoughts and any ideas you have .
Till next week when I give you another update;

Stay safe and enjoy life.

Ross Tattersall