Oatlands Public School’s veggie garden project was the recent beneficiary of a Keep Australia Beautiful EnviroMentors workshop organised by the City of Parramatta.

During the workshop, students in Years 4 to 6 explored composting as a way of reducing the amount of organic waste going to landfill, and also discovered the benefits of worm farming.

The workshop has already paid dividends for the school, with cherry tomatoes finding their way into crunch and sip sessions, and herbs and lettuces packaged up for parents to take home at pick up time.

“One of the important lessons was that not only what to put in compost, but why other things, like mandarin peel, shouldn’t go in,” Assistant Principal Anna Goyen said.

Students are also well on the way to becoming expert worm handlers.

“Worms aren’t just disgusting, slimy creatures that birds eat. They are really helpful in the garden, and they have five hearts,” Year 5 student Olivia said.

“I also learnt what we don’t have to throw in the bin for landfill, like you can put tea bags in worm farms and compost.”

Now, as students do their daily food scrap collection, they are better informed about what makes great compost to help the garden grow.

And with better-informed students, the ability to grow produce such as bananas and care for the environment at the same time becomes easier.