Kitchen Garden & Food Tech

Kitchen Garden                                                             Growing, Harvesting & Eating News

If you haven’t visited our Skye garden lately, I encourage you to take a moment to wander through.  It’s truly flourishing after the recent lovely rain. Students have been delighted to discover ripe, juicy strawberries and raspberries, and our apple blossoms are already beginning to transform into apples the students will enjoy in Semester One 2026.

Students in Kitchen Garden have been hard at work maintaining the garden beds and planting tomatoes, zucchini, watermelon, basil and pumpkins. They also harvested broad beans, herbs, lemons, saltbush (which was used in our island fried scones recipe), rhubarb, and spring onions to create the delicious dishes shared below.

Discovering Native Ingredients in Year 5/6 Food Tech

This semester students in Year 5 and 6 have been busy investigated how, before European colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People lived in individual communities and nations that cared for, protected and sustainably harvested food and fibre resources.  Students researched indigenous edible plants that would be suitable to grow in our Skye Garden. This week, they have been busy planting chosen species and beginning the next stage of our Indigenous garden project.

Digging into Soil in Food Tech (Year 3/4)

This Term in Food Tech the Year 3/4 students participated in hands-on experiments and garden observations, students examined the importance of soil and its impact on plant health. They analysed the composition of different soil types, compared healthy and unhealthy samples, and explained the factors influencing soil quality. Using observational tools, they identified soil organisms and proposed strategies to enhance soil health.  Students evaluated the effectiveness of the current Skye composting system and collaborated to design and implement improvements for greater efficiency.  It is exciting to look ahead to further improvements to our compost system at Skye Primary School in 2026.

Eco Warriors at Work: Blue Banded Bees

Earlier this year, we were thrilled to spot a native blue banded bee in our Skye Primary School garden. Inspired by this exciting discovery, our dedicated Eco Warriors took action by constructing specialist wooden bee houses to provide a safe habitat for these important pollinators.

A huge thank you to Graeme Mill, who expertly guided Year 4 students in building the bee houses. I would also like to warmly acknowledge Sarah Weiss for her passion and dedication to this project, and for successfully organising the Landcare grant and resources. Landcare have supported Skye Primary School in many ways over the years, and we are very grateful for their continued support. We were also fortunate to receive an anonymous donation of salvias, which have now been planted throughout our garden to further support our bees.

Congratulations to our marvellous Eco Warriors, who had great fun building the houses and are making a real difference to our environment. I can’t wait to see how many blue banded bees choose to call Skye Primary School home.