In the Garden

In the Garden

Welcome to 2026 in the garden! Like many parts of college life at the start of the school year, our vibrant college gardens are buzzing with energy, anticipation, and excitement. This season is all about fresh starts, reconnecting, and renewal. As autumn nears, both we and our plants can look forward to a break from the heat and humidity. This change will be especially noticeable in our kitchen garden, ‘La Foresta’, which is entering its most abundant growing phase. After their summer rest, garden beds are being revived and replanted for the upcoming season. Crops that struggled through the hot summer—such as zucchinis—are now thriving thanks to some rain and the promise of cooler temperatures. 

With students and staff back on campus this week, we made our first harvest for La Cucina: basil, garlic chives, sage, kale, spinach beet, eggplant, cucumbers, and our first pomegranates of the season. Jonno and Fernando in the kitchen will soon turn these into delicious pesto, sandwiches, and salads. In the next few weeks, we're looking forward to more pomegranates, zucchinis, guavas, the first small avocados of the year, and my personal favourite—red dragonfruit!

College Biodiversity Register

To celebrate 70 years of Mount Alvernia, we're excited to initiate the Mount Alvernia College Biodiversity Register. The goal is to document and celebrate the range of plants and animals in our gardens. This initiative aims to document and celebrate the diverse plant and animal life present in our gardens. Our observations and participation as a community will help us better understand, protect, support and enhance the unique ecosystem that thrives at our college. Initially we are setting a modest but very achievable goal to add at least one organism per day to the register throughout the school year, aiming for roughly 300 entries by year's end. We'll keep News and Views readers updated with new and interesting entries and share the register periodically. Everyone is encouraged to contribute by joining Sprout Squad, emailing photos of your finds (pratd@staff.mta.qld.edu.au), or chatting with me in the garden.

Come, Enjoy and Get Involved

Whether you’re a student, staff, or family member, we encourage you to come enjoy and participate in our beautiful gardens. A garden thrives most when nurtured by community. Come by for a moment peace and calm, to connect with others, explore, learn, swap cuttings, seeds, or knowledge. Most importantly don’t forget to say hello to our friendly chickens, Pepper, Wonder Woman, and Pumbaa, who work tirelessly in our garden are always eager for chat or a cuddle!

Students and staff can also get involved by joining our environment club, Sprout Squad, or our floral club, Flora.

Upcoming in Term 1:

• Grow it Forward: Tuesday, 3rd March, 7:30–8:30am & 3:00–3:30pm – Forging connections through the sharing of produce, plants, and seeds from La Foresta with the school and local communities.

• La Foresta Garden Tours: Individuals and groups can book a dedicated garden tour of La Foresta. Stay tuned for a booking link!

   

See you in the garden in ’26!

Kind regards, 

David Pratt

Curator of Gardens.