School: Nashville State School (QLD)
Partners: Growing Communities and Jabiru Community Youth and Children's Services and others
Nashville State School is a co-educational primary school of about 300 students located in the North Brisbane suburb of Brighton. The school is in a low socio-economic area with a small number of parents who have completed tertiary education and many foster families.
The school identified both a need and an opportunity: they were seeking an intervention that would help promote nutrition, physical activity and healthy weight among students while also meeting the performance areas of ‘environmental sustainability’ and ‘community involvement’.
The school embarked on a program in partnership with Growing Communities, Jabiru Community Youth and Children’s Services Association, and the Queensland Department of Health. The program, entitled Grow What You Eat, has been funded through a Round 2 Eat Well Be Active community partnerships grant of $38,700, together with in-kind donations of expertise from Jabiru and Growing Communities.
Growing Communities conducted the community consultations during the design phase and coordinated all gardening activities. The school and Growing Communities employed a garden development worker one day a week to conduct gardening and training sessions for students and parents.
The project involves an integration of theory with practical gardening experience, as students learn about horticulture, organic gardening principles, nutrition and permaculture. Practical projects include the establishment of garden beds, the installation of water tanks, pumps and irrigation equipment, and the development of business plans for the enterprise. It is hoped that the project will become self-sustainable, with the sale of produce and the development of an outdoor kitchen. The school has a tuckshop, but this is currently open on only Wednesday afternoon, selling one low cost meal to students.
The project is currently funded for one year. The school hopes to use the Impact Award money to extend the project and achieve self-sufficiency. This would involve establishment of the school orchard, with reticulated watering system, and the employment of a part-time tuckshop coordinator, which would enable the delivery of one healthy meal per day at low cost using garden produce. This would allow all students from low income families to enjoy at least one good meal per day. The school would also be able offer more training opportunities for students and community groups in order to promote sustainability in the future.
