Connect, Care, Share: Our Common Home!

          

“We are all meant to shine, as children do. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically connects others.” Marianne Williamson - A Return to Love

It was a case of "Lights, Camera, Action!" when Catholic Earthcare Australia visited St Patrick's Primary Blacktown to film a video for the United Nations International Year of Light and Soils. The students really did shine as with confidence, they discussed the aspects of their outdoor learning space which are most important to them. The Kitchen Garden Group shared a good general knowledge about the vegetables, herbs and flowers which they have planted and nurtured, with their teachers and they were able to 'act out' how plants grow from seeds to maturity!With the guidance of a generous parent, the harvested produce was cooked, the table was set and adorned with a yellow St Patrick Rose, picked from the garden. The delicious stir fry was then appreciated by the 'Future Chefs'!  

 

 

 

 

The video was released on 5 June 2015 'World Environment Day'

Just Add Water!

The best way to ensure that your garden thrives over holiday periods is to ensure that it has water, so the Environmental Group at St Bernadette's, got to work to put in an irrigation system. This meant enlisting Mr K's help to measure, soften and attach the tubing but the hard working students took it on board to do most of  the digging themselves ... well done team!

 

 

 

 

 

Sustainability Wiki resources for CEDP staff

The above link is for educators in the Parramatta Diocese looking for ways to incorporate Sustainability into their curriculum and school communities!

Living classrooms with garden based learning

Kristin Stayer has posted a fantastic article about Garden Based Learning at the Edutopia website. Click on the Edutopia image below to access the article.

The article points out how gardens in schools:

• function as living laboratories
• enable students to connect with global issues through the natural resources of earth
• teach students sustainable practices via composting and waste reduction 
• connect students with literacy, numeracy, science and many other areas of the curriculum.

You can see the variety of learning activities our students have been part of in the following mosaic: