School’s green lead

By Tania Martin
THE Patch Primary School is raising a new wave of green leaders with the opening of its eco-friendly environment centre and a series of gardens.
Hundreds of current and past students, teachers and parents braved the wet conditions recently (24 April) to witness the opening.
The vision for the garden and eco-centre was born more than six years ago and almost 17,000 kilometres away.
Teacher Michelle Rayner was in England when she visited a garden that had been built and designed by more than 21 primary schools.
“It was an amazing model, self-funded and had everything in it … you could walk through areas of flowers, production vegetables, composting and there was even a place to check the weather,” she said.
“I thought if anyone could do something like that it would be The Patch School …we have land, the enthusiasm and understood it was the only way forward for the environment.”
Ms Rayner said although the school already had its beautiful wetlands, it needed an outdoor classroom for the students.
“The garden project offered us a unique opportunity to create a system of gardening that uses important principles for the future,” she said.
Returning from her trip, Ms Rayner approached the then principal, Michael McClare who agreed with the concept.
The school then sought the students’ ideas for the garden. But it was to be another three years before the project would start to take shape.
The $55,000 project included building an eco-education centre for the students and turning a large grassed area into a number of sustainable gardens.
It includes a Koori plot, a dry and low water use garden, wood-fired pizza oven, and a chook house.
The eco-centre is also home to a number of the school’s pets, from stick insects to guinea pigs. But Ms Rayner said there was still plenty to do.
“We wanted to celebrate what we have achieved so far,” she said.
“We still have a lot of planting to finish including the fairy garden and constructing a tree trail.”
The school also plans to extend its family of pets to include reptiles such as frogs, and turtles and hopes to install another water tank. Ms Rayner said the project had not been just about the students, but the whole community.
“We had parents donating a lot of plants and work,” she said.
Yarra Ranges Lyster Ward councillor Samantha Dunn said the garden was truly inspirational.
“It great to see not only the children and the teachers but the parents putting their heart and soul into the garden,” she said.
“They have created something really special … it’s a good model for other schools to follow.”
The school is also hoping to pay tribute to the traditional owners of the land, the Wurundjeri people by asking them to help name the garden.
“We are hoping to call it Our Creation but are waiting to see if we can have permission to use the Wurundjeri word for that,” Ms Rayner said.