Carisma & potatoes in all their versatile glory

For an avid autumn is the most exciting time of the year. The sidewalks become paved in ‘brown gold’, as trees shed their leaves at the turn of the season. Kitchen garden schools around the country are making the most of this readily available natural resource, adding carbon to built from repurposed and recycled objects in the name of reducing food waste.

Many schools and services within the kitchen garden community manage staff to run kitchen and garden classes. They may recruit teachers, Kitchen and Garden Specialists, volunteers or a combination depending on their requirements. Keep an eye on this page for upcoming opportunities.

• Murrumbeena Primary School is seeking a Garden Specialist. Applications close 14th March. 
• Osborne Primary School is seeking a Kitchen Specialist. Applications close 22nd March.

At Elwood Primary School in Victoria, plane trees coat the grounds in a thick layer of waxy leaves every year. They block light from struggling seedlings and create a cosy habitat for slugs and snails. The school’s former kitchen garden teacher (and current SAKGF gardening guru) Kate Beckwith was looking for ways to get students excited about compost, while motivating them to collect this rich, organic matter. She hatched a plan, and the annual Festival of Fall was born.

“We developed a series of games and challenges, teaching students the power of positive thinking by re-packaging something they ‘have’ to do as something fun,” Kate explains. “We even developed an Autumn Olympics, where students would compete in challenges to see which pair could rake the highest pile of leaves in five minutes, or who could fill up sacks donated by a local greengrocer the fastest. We painted leaves for medals and awarded them to students on a small podium.”

Younger students were also involved in the festivities, decorating their classrooms with leaf and bark rubbings, and creating garlands and bunting using leaves and dried berries.