Hampton Park Secondary College officially opened its new garden on Monday 17 November, a living classroom that blends hands-on learning, sustainability, and community partnership.
Despite the weather, the mood was bright as the school community gathered for the opening ceremony.
Principal Wayne Haworth told attendees the garden reflects the school’s values of “respect, learning, and working together,” and thanked community partners for their generosity, including the key garden supplier Lyndpark Garden Supplies and Hampton Park Uniting Church.
“This garden offers a wonderful opportunity, not just for our vocational learning programs, but also for well-being inclusion through mentoring and hands-on learning activities,” he said.
“It also enriches other core subject areas such as PE, health, science, giving students real-life and real-world experiences in a calm, engaging outdoor environment.”
The project was led by teacher Sally Walsh, her co-partner school staff Jessica Harrod, and her Year 10 vocational leadership group, who spent months transforming the once-empty plot into a thriving garden.
Students were involved in every stage, from shaping the initial vision to learning how to build partnerships, write professional emails, present proposals and secure sponsorship.
A major supporter was Lyndpark Garden Supplies, whose representative Mark Borschman and his family donated scoria, mulch and soil to help establish the garden beds.
Students presented their plans directly to Mark after developing communication and leadership skills as part of their coursework.
The school also partnered with the Uniting Church Community Garden after Ms Walsh visited it and learned about its good cause in the community.
Church volunteers then taught students about planting methods, companion planting, water management and sustainable gardening.
The group originally planned to build their own garden beds from scratch, but shifted to wicking beds when the idea was introduced by community partners, a decision that sped up the construction process and allowed the garden to be ready for summer crops. Term three’s wild weather forced some delays, with students working through rain or pausing on days that were too wet, but teachers from PE, health and vocational studies helped maintain momentum by integrating garden activities into their programs.
Ms Walsh said the garden would continue evolving as new student groups take ownership each year.
“That plan is to give what we don’t use in our kitchen for hospitality to the local group,” she said.
“It’s a wonderful initiative to see them donate everything back to the community garden to help everyone.
“The Uniting Church do a beautiful lunch cook-up for anyone in need of a good meal or some social interactions. It’s bringing the community together, and we hope that in time we can help to supply, but also our students at the school, not just this group, will be able to get down and help volunteers in their garden.”
