Bush Tucker Garden....some success!

We began our Bush Tucker garden some time ago and I use it regularly in my Sustainable Futures Lessons. We have lost some plants and have had massive growth from others.

Students know that they must not eat from this garden without permission as they don't have the indigenous knowledge about how they need to be prepared. We did however enjoy a little taste of the fruit from the Australian Finger Lime from the garden this week. It has a unique fresh and tangy taste which explodes in your mouth. We are hanging out for another to grow on this healthy looking bush.

This 8 cm fruit contained hundreds of tangy little juicy balls...which look like caviar!

Another surprise recently was finding fruit on our Davidson's Plum which is also an indigenous food plant. This plant grows its fruit on the trunk of the tree. The fruit was not very sweet with a very sour taste. We are looking forward to our next harvest to explore its uses.

Twiggy, our stick insect visitor

For some time at our school we have enjoyed a visit from Twiggy, a stick insect (Ctenomorpha Chronus)who provided much inspiration and learning opportunities for our students.
 She had laid hundreds of eggs (which we still have) and had been carefully handled and examined by all the children who were fascinated by her.
Just before the holidays we decided that she should return to her favourite type of tree. One exciting day we released her after school, with many students bringing their parents to see where she had climbed to. The kids were so in tune with finding her amongst the foliage iin her cage that they could see where she had gone.....the parents had some trouble however.
I loved the fact that although they loved her, they were equally excited about her being released. We now await to see if her eggs hatch.......maybe in a few months.
Here are some artworks from our Level 1 and 2 students who found twings in the garden to make "Twiggy" and create her habitat.