Environmental Science
The Environmental Science program at Springvale Campus involves both class and garden activities. In class, students have learned about safety in the garden, using and sharing equipment/tools safely, parts of a plant, bees in the garden, deciduous trees and evergreen, toxic versus non-toxic plants, identification of weeds, soil composition and soil care.
The photos below demonstrate the tremendous activities the students have performed in the garden. Please enjoy the progress of our students and our garden.
We started the year with a very overgrown garden. This is what we started with in the Garden this year in early February 2026.
WOW !! After a couple of weeks of work from our students, here are the same beds as above but all clear of weeds. The students worked extremely hard to achieve these great results. They consistently showed our school values such as RESILIENCE, COLLABORATION and EXCELLENCE. Fantastic work in Environmental Science, everyone.
All students are expected to wear gloves in the garden for their own safety. Requests were made by students, so I took the gloves home, gave them a good wash. We now hang the gloves up to dry them before we store them away!
Year 3 students in the garden. Using Gloves in the garden are necessary when planting our seedlings.
Late February - getting beds ready. Students in from Years 1 to 6 - filled the huge school skip 3 or 4 times full of weeds. The students worked together collaboratively in teams. If things were too heavy it was left for the older grades to handle.
These are Year 1 - 2 students. Please note Wheelbarrow full of weeds on left hand side.
Our garden beds were ready late February to early March. The students mixed soil and compost whilst turning over the soil using spades and trowels. Students learnt this action contributes to the health of the soil and prepares it for the plants. After getting the soil ready, many seedlings were planted. Students in all grades contributed to planting radishes, cauliflower, beetroot, broccoli, beans and various herbs. Students continued to water and maintain the pumpkins, tomatoes, and basil planted late in 2025. Mulch was added to surround the new plants to contribute to moisture in the soil.
The SLC grades harvested tomatoes and basil and due to working very hard as a group, participated in a pasta tasting using these plants, early in Term 2. It was so nice to hear quite a few, “Yums”. It was a small thing to do for the amazing work performed in the garden from our senior students.
These ingredients made a wonderful pasta sauce for the SLC students to enjoy.
The FLC and JLC students watched how a broad bean germinates and grows over 21 days. They planted their own and took them home to show their families in Week 1, Term2. Hopefully, some of them planted their beans in the family garden!!!
Our garden is looking really fantastic!!
Our seedlings are growing. We are now waiting for our Winter Crop. Thanks to the school which provided funds to top up mulch to stop the weeds coming back and a massive tidy up for our fruit trees.
We have introduced one scarecrow with the aim of keeping the birds away from our plants.
Watch this space we may need more scarecrows later this year!!
Wendy Griffiths
Environmental Science
Teacher
(Springvale Campus)