Garden judges drop in

THERE was great excitement at Tooradin Primary School last week when judges of a garden competition arrived by helicopter on the school grounds.
The school was one of 34 chosen from 200 entries as regional finalists in the Schools Garden Awards 2009.
The state judging panel visited all of the finalist schools by helicopter between 26 October and 9 November.
Tooradin Primary School had their visit last Thursday and principal Marj Scarce said it was a wonderful experience for the kids.
“It was a great excitement when the magnificent red helicopter landed on the school oval for all to see close up,” Ms Scarce said.
Students showed the judges around the school. Environment teacher Kirstie Young said the children had completed many projects in the gardens including weeding, planting, mulching and also enjoyed the dry creek bed and picking vegetables.
“The children take great pride in their school and love getting out in the gardenand getting their hands dirty,” Ms Young said.
Judging for the awards is not based on the most aesthetic school ground, rather on improvements made to the school environment through the active involvement of students, teachers and school community.
The grand finale of the awards to announce the state winner will be held on 2 December.