The Patch Program
Blackburn Primary School
Term 2 in the garden
I have kicked off my term in the Patch with the grade 3s and 4s who are learning about the importance of soil, what it is, how to identify healthy soil and how to improve the health of degraded soils. Last week, we really got our hands dirty and analysed the soil in the Patch to determine its health. We hope to build new soil by recycling things that would otherwise be waste, such as coffee grounds, spent garden plants and autumn leaves, and will explore erosion and how to prevent it in the lesson to come.
I encourage you too to make use of the windfalls of autumn by gathering the fallen leaves and adding them as mulch to your garden beds or as dry ingredients to balance out the wetness of the veggie scraps in your compost bin. They are a valuable resource and can help build rich and fertile soils, welcoming essential worms and fungi to your garden. Highly underrated and unappreciated by most of us, soil is essential to life on the planet and holds a key to fighting climate change, so anything we can do to keep it healthy is well worth the effort!
Change is afoot!
You may have noticed a change to the entrance of the Patch, with the disappearance of the old apple crate gardens. These have been removed to allow the delivery of the new toilet block to replace the one out the front of the barn. The old garden beds had come to the end of their useful life and I am excited at this opportunity to recreate and reinvigorate the entrance to the Patch to make it more welcoming.
Volunteers needed for cooking classes
Thankyou to those wonderful community members who have signed up to help with cooking classes this term. We are still in need of more volunteers to ensure all classes can proceed. Helpers need a current working with children check but no experience is necessary and classes are a fun way to be involved in your child school experience.
Please go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084fada82ea6fd0-term5 to sign up and please consider signing up to help in any class in need of volunteers even if you do not have a child in that particular class. Without adequate volunteer support, classes will need to be cancelled.