First the students planned and prepared their garden, and made stepping stones and a bird bath for it. The students then spent a day sowing the garden with native bush tucker plants.

The students gained many skills from participating on the programme, including Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Awareness and Cultural Awareness.

They also did traditional Aboriginal Dot Paintings and consulted with local Elders about their Aboriginal Culture.

 

By the time the garden was completed the students were proud of their achievement and were much more settled in school. The garden was a huge success. Now Windsor High School is making plans to build a Dreaming Garden where students can take time out from class to enjoy a lush garden complete with a frog pond full of life.

 

“When JobQuest first came into the school I didn’t know what to expect. However it only took a few weeks for the change to be noticeable in the participating students.

We targeted the lower level classes and the extra support that they received was enough to lift these students’ skills dramatically.

 

It wasn’t long before the lowest level class was actually one of the highest performing classes!

I think the secret to JobQuest’s success was that they worked very closely with myself and the principal to deliver exactly what we thought the students needed. To see the confidence and ability of the students’ soar as each week went on was justification for the programme.”