Every Friday this term, a group of Year 5 students have met together to research and discuss how they will build and design a Bush Tucker Garden. We started with the problem of what to do with an empty space – a lonely sand square near the Upper Primary playground. We decided to make this garden because we think it would be a good space for students to learn more and connect to Aboriginal culture and sustainable land use. We also thought it would be a great place to visit at recess and lunch as well as a relaxing space close to nature if students need some quiet time.

We have researched Noongar seasons and types of bush tucker. We have made scale drawings and come up with garden designs. We have also prepared presentations and contributed to writing proposals for local grants. We will start building and adding things to the space in Term 3. The things we will be adding will include native plants and bush tucker plants. We will also include some sensory items like windchimes, made out of recycled materials.

We all hope that you agree with us that this will be an amazing improvement to the school. We have tried to include as many things related to nature and aboriginal culture (the original owners of this land) into our designs. Hope you like the final result of the garden!

Jennifer and Alexander

From the Year Five enrichment group

We are very excited to embark on the bush tucker project, to build a beautiful space in an under-utilised area of our school but more importantly, to create a space where students can immerse themselves in the natural environment and Aboriginal culture.  We value Aboriginal People, knowledge and traditions, and it is our wish to connect and reflect their culture here at our school. We acknowledge we are on Mooro country of the Noongar people and that First Nations People past and present have invaluable knowledge about this land that we can learn from. We hope this bush tucker garden will provide one way in which we can do this.

We are thrilled to announce that the school has been awarded two grants to assist with this bush tucker project!  The Woolworths Junior Landcare grant will provide the school with funds to contribute to tucker bush plants. The second grant, The PALS project, has been awarded to the school to fund Aboriginal art within the garden space. We have met with local Noongar artists and are busy finalising the design for the garden. The primary school students will be involved in some of the processes of implementing the garden and participating in Bush Tucker workshops to provide hands on learning.

We look forward to keeping you updated on the project as it evolves!

Jaime Lovell

Primary Library Teacher