Seeds of healthy eating

By Danielle Galvin
GETTING children excited about vegetables is no easy feat.
But Pakenham Kindergarten’s new veggie patch is teaching kids about growing and maintaining a garden.
The children are learning to tend to and maintain the vegie patch, which has onions, potatoes, tomatoes and silverbeet with a herb garden too.
One of the mothers, Carrie, says her two boys love playing in the veggie patch.
“They have one at home too and they love it,” she said.
The young ones enjoy tending to the garden and learning how to treat and respect the environment.
They also learn about waste, recycling and cooking.
The kindergarten was thrilled to receive funding through the Coles and Junior Landcare School Garden grant.
Families and friends of the centre helped to prepare the garden bed when the funding came through earlier on in the year.
“We had a working bee for parents to help get the vegie patch started.”
The children also take seeds home with them to plant in their own backyards.
“It’s really exciting for some of the kids who don’t have anything like it at home,” she said.
The children have been taught about weeding and watering the garden and enjoy watching the vegetables grow from seedlings.
“We would like to thank all the people in the community that have made this veggie patch a reality for the children at the kindergarten, with special thanks to the Coles and Junior Landcare grant team for their support.”
Pakenham Kindergarten takes enrolments from birth for three-year-olds and four-year-olds.
To find out about Coles and Junior Landcare visit www.juniorlandcare.com.au.