[1]20 grants of $3,500 each for schools.

This program provides grants to schools to give them the opportunity to involve their students and community in developing and implementing environmental management projects.

Objectives

The overall objective of the Food Gardens in Schools Program is to provide learning opportunities for students, teachers and other members of the school community about healthy sustainable living through growing and harvesting food in school gardens. This aligns with the Eco Schools Program’s goal to assist schools to be environmentally sustainable. The Program provides funding to establish food gardens in schools and utilise these for teachers’ and students’ learning across curricula. The term ‘healthy sustainable living’ acknowledges the connection between a healthy lifestyle and a healthy environment.

The term ‘food garden’ refers to gardens that grow edible crops such as fruit and vegetables.

The program will fund projects aimed at meeting the following objectives:

Environment and health  

• promoting food garden projects that use resources efficiently and improve the quality of the local environment
• enabling schools to address community and government environmental concerns and priorities about healthy sustainable living
• integrating other health and student welfare initiatives in the school

Students  

• the development of knowledge, values and behaviour that supports healthy sustainable living
• participation in designing, planting, harvesting and caring for school food gardens

Teachers  

• assisting teachers to integrate the school’s food garden program into curriculum delivery and maximise student learning
• enabling project related professional learning for teachers to gain practical and educational skills and knowledge about food gardens

Schools  

• supporting a whole of school approach to sustainable management of school food gardens
• extending the range of students’ learning experiences by offering food gardens that facilitate student learning
• enabling strong school and local community links

=> Best practice: examples, tips and resources [2]

=> http://www.environmentaltrust.nsw.gov.au [3]