Building hope through gardening and community

A delicious new project is creating a ripple of hope throughout the Grenfell community, according to St Joseph’s teacher Natalie Caruana.

The school has been a recipient of the ‘Building a Healthier Community Challenge’ through NSW Local Health and received a grant to develop a vegetable garden and outdoor space – a project planned and dreamed about for two years.

“This opportunity will provide the school with diverse benefits,” Natalie explained.

“From a wider community connection to collaboration with Wiradjuri people in gaining a greater understanding of ‘bush tucker’, working with Landcare to understand the natural environment and how we can work with and repair the environment, opportunities for stewardship, and opportunities to foster and inspire a heart to help and build a desire to improve the welfare of those less fortunate.”

The outdoor space will incorporate various vegetable gardens, a worm farm, compost, and greenhouses.

Natalie said Grenfell one of many regional communities facing hardship and constraints that are, at times, out of the community’s control.

“This project creates an opportunity for autonomy to create positive outcomes, connectivity and empowerment,” she said.

“It creates a ripple effect of hope – from the elderly members of our aged care home growing seedlings alongside the children, from the students and wider community connecting and learning about the food of Wiradjuri people, to those in the community having access to freshly grown produce which they may not have been able to have access previously.”

Principal Melissa Hotham said part of Catholic Social Teaching was stewardship of creation, and a responsibility to care for the world around us.

“We also seek to instil the values of care and concern for others, and generosity to those that need it in our community,” she said.

“This project will support these values by providing students with the opportunity to grow fresh food themselves, and then share with our community by donating fresh produce to the Grenfell Food Hall and MPS.”

Natalie said this would enable the children to see their actions could create, hope and change in the world around them.

“This drives resilience, perseverance and a sense of empowerment,” she said.

“Hope is such a powerful emotion that has been the greatest force of change, demonstrating the best of humanity.”

The students themselves are very excited to get the process underway.

“We can grow yummy food,” Allie said.

“The food we are growing is healthy for us,” Harry agreed.

“And we can send veggies to the food hall,” Thomas added.