Monday, June 2025
Imagination is blooming at YMCA Bundaberg Childcare and Kindergarten with preschoolers swapping craft for watering cans this month to help plan their dream “Pickers’ Patch” for their outdoor area.
The kindy is one of scores of preschools and schools around the country entering this year’s Healthy Harold’s Garden Grants, a national initiative from Life Ed in partnership with Bakers Delight and their Healthy Solutions range.
“The garden is already a great space that the children are going into each week: observing the changes happening with the seeds and seedlings currently growing,” says kindy assistant centre manager and early childhood teacher, Louise McPherson.
“The children have loved watching the flowers bloom, and this has sparked conversations about what else we might be able to grow in our garden. The grant would mean that we can finish this project to create an inviting natural space for children and families to explore, care for and be proud of. It also will align nicely with our 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning and connecting with our land.”
Life Ed Queensland CEO Taryn Black says entries to last year’s Healthy Harold’s Garden Grants program highlighted a rising trend:
“Teachers are thinking outside the classroom and factoring outdoor projects into their programs. Garden projects teach nutrition while nurturing calm, connection and resilience,” Ms Black said.
“We’re proud to partner with Bakers Delight to bring this opportunity to schools around Australia. In a time when children’s mental health is under increasing pressure, these garden spaces give students a sense of peace, purpose and joy—and we believe that is worth nurturing.”
Unlike a traditional veggie bed, the Pickers’ Patch at YMCA Bundaberg Kindergarten will be immersive, giving kids the chance to feel, see, smell, hear and taste—in what kindy leaders describe as a “garden-to-mouth” experience.
Ms McPherson said a new garden would provide a beautiful space to play and learn.
“Not only do the children learn how to interact and care for the environment they also are building skills in other learning areas such as social, physical and cognitive,” she explains.
“Socially they are learning how to interact with others and negotiate turn taking, sharing and also communicating their ideas to others, physically they engage in lifting, moving, digging and pouring which is all great for fine and gross motor skills; and cognitively they are learning cause and effect, life cycles of plants and about the changes in the environment.”
Running 3–24 June, the national grants program offers $25,000 in grants to help schools and early-learning centres bring edible or sensory gardens to life. New categories mean even more schools and preschools can win funds and free curriculum resources.
Bakers Delight Joint CEO Elise Gillespie adds, “Early education about healthy eating and nourishing our bodies has a positive impact on kids, both mentally and physically, so we’re delighted to be supporting another 25 schools around Australia in bringing this hands-on educational experience to life.”
With tiny hands already busy turning soil, the Pickers’ Patch is poised to sprout big life lessons—and maybe a grant-winning garden too. Stay tuned!
