Students at St Paul of the Cross Catholic Primary School Dulwich Hill have been levelling up on their sustainability efforts through OzHarvest’s FEAST program.
The FEAST (Food Education and Sustainability Training) program is a curriculum-aligned program, inspiring students to eat healthy food, waste less and become change-makers in their local community.
Throughout Term 3, students at St Paul of the Cross have taken the challenge head on, participating in a variety of engaging theory and practical lessons each week.
From cooking in the classroom to learning the science and technology of food production, students have been deepening their understanding of sustainability and how they can apply their new-found knowledge in their everyday lives.
One week for example saw students investigate what sort of foods are wasted in their own homes – after discovering that bananas were among the most commonly wasted foods, students then learnt how to make a variety of foods using bananas.
Alexandra Mangraviti, Assistant Principal at St Paul of the Cross, said the FEAST program has been a real game changer for the school.
“We realised the importance of sustainability within our community and we wanted to weave it into our curriculum in a purposeful way,” she said.
“We thought FEAST would be a great way to teach our students about sustainability with hands-on, real-life lessons that are so linked to our syllabus.”
The program has been a collaborative community building project, with OzHarvest representatives and volunteers also visiting the school regularly to help facilitate lessons.
Mrs Mangraviti said the program has been a huge hit with students and staff alike.
“The kids absolutely love this project – they are thriving,” she said.
“If they could do it every day, they would.
“This is our inaugural year of introducing the program but the hope is that we will do it year in, year out and each year it will get even bigger and better.”
