School kitchen gardeners to create recipes for success

12 May 2016

South-west students have the chance to show off their kitchen garden produce through inventive recipes and be rewarded with a share of $2,000 worth of prizes.

The incentive comes as part of Wannon Water’s much-loved Water It, Grow It, Cook It competition, which has returned in 2016 to provide extra enthusiasm over the winter months.

Primary and secondary schools with kitchen gardens are encouraged to put their school-grown fruits and vegies to productive use by creating a personalised recipe with their ingredients.

The competition aims to teach students about water efficiency, healthy living and sustainability; the teamwork and creativity that comes with the challenge is an extra bonus.

Wannon Water Education Officer Catherine Grist said the Water It, Grow It, Cook It competition had become a popular part of the organisation’s education program and she looked forward to seeing even more schools enter this year.

“It’s great to see students and school communities nurture their gardens in a water-efficient way and it’s pleasing we can help promote this terrific learning activity,” she said.

“Wannon Water has visited about 30 school kitchen gardens in the last two years to see their progress, and we’ve been very impressed by the ongoing enthusiasm.”

Competition entry is open to all primary and secondary students within Wannon Water’s service region. Students can enter on their own, in a group or as a class and recipes should combine creativity and flair with nutritious value. 

Gardening prize packs totalling $2,000 are up for grabs to help the winning kitchen gardens to be their best throughout the year. Individual cash prizes are also on offer.

Selected entries will also be showcased in Wannon Water’s 2016 Water It, Grow It, Cook It ebook.

To enter, students simply need to jot down their recipe, take a photo of their prepared dish and the produce growing in the school kitchen garden, then visit wannonwater.com.au/education to download the entry form.

Entries are open until 5pm on Tuesday, 21 June 2016 and full terms and conditions are available on Wannon Water’s website.

A panel of local food connoisseurs and gardeners will judge the entries in July and winners will be announced early August.