Horticulture students transform walkways with new Indigenous garden

A new Indigenous garden at Tenison Woods College has brightened up walkways and is helping to connect students to Country.

Students from Tenison’s Horticulture class worked on the garden project over several months, with the help of Horticulture Teacher and Bernadette​​​​ Fisher, as well as other students, parents and volunteers.

Backed by a grant received by the school as part of OneFortyOne’s Community Grants Program, the project focused on biodiversity and education on Indigenous plants.

Horticulture student Alexei has a passion for all things nature and said he put a lot of love into the project.

“I’ve loved gardening my whole life – I also figured out it’s something that I really want to do in the future,” Alexei said.

“I’ve learned from my dad over time. He was an arborist, and now he’s a parks and gardens coordinator, so I learn a lot from him.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn more about native plants, how they grow and how First Nations people take care of them.

“Doing the Certificate II in Horticulture is giving me a better understanding of what these gardens and plants are like.”

Bernadette said the project was a great opportunity for the students to learn more about local First Nations culture.

“The horticulture students wanted to create something they could take ownership of,” Horticulture Teacher Bernadette said.

“We thought it would be important to learn about local plants, and more about connection to Country.”

Students consulted with Uncle Doug and Kathy Bell from Southern Ground to learn more about the types of plants that could be used in the garden, and how to best support their growth.

This involved a Welcome to Country from Uncle Doug, and sessions exploring the range of plants available and their uses.

“Kathy also helped with the design of the garden, in regards to placement and combinations of which plants should be planted together,” Bernadette​​​​ said.

The class now has plans to make placards for each of the plants in the garden with information outlining which part is edible, connecting with the existing Stephanie Alexander kitchen.

“The idea is to incorporate some of the Indigenous plants that we grow into some of the food we make,” Bernadette​​​​ said.

Cindy Bunt from the Post and Rail also ran a workshop for students as part of the project, exploring how to propagate and grow from seeds.

“We would also like to set up a seed nursery so we can propagate some seeds when plants mature, then put them in little envelopes as part of the seed library so kids can take them home and grow them in their own gardens.”

“We want to say a special thanks to OneFortyOne – the grant has allowed us to support a project that the students have a real interest in.”