The garden at Springhurst primary school, in north-east regional Victoria, never stood a chance against the record-breaking heatwave at the beginning of this year. Returning to school after the summer holidays, teacher Aasta Dearnaley recalls the garden had “turned to ash”. But eight months on, students have created a more heat-resilient garden which has been recognised as one of the country’s most innovative by the National Kitchen Garden awards.
Developed by the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, the awards celebrate kitchen gardens in schools and early childhood centres across the country, with this year’s awards attracting a record 600 entries over nine categories.
