Gardening is about more than food for young people learning English

Blackburn English Language School gardening project aims to grow mental wellbeing In short: A language school for young migrants has teamed up with health organisations to start a paddock-to-plate initiative. Teachers and mental health workers say gardening provides a way to grow connections and a cognitive break for children learning English. What's next? The garden will form part of the science curriculum for Blackburn English Language School's Wodonga campus. For the first time since he left Africa, 16-year-old Albert Lotemo is delighted to have his hands in the dirt. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and raised in Zambia, he would work every day on a bountiful harvest as part of his agriculture studies. Loading..."I was planting the food like maize, cassava … some orange, banana … and lemon and pineapple," he said. "Actually, I'm feeling good because today is my first time in Australia doing another garden … like in school in Zambia." Albert has been studying for six months at Blackburn English Language School's (BELS) Wodonga campus in north-east Victoria. BELS acts as a bridge for young migrants and refugees with limited English to transition to mainstream schools. The school has partnered with youth mental health organisation Headspace, under local organisation Gateway Health, to plant the seeds of a new garden to assist the students with some of the challenges of living in a new country. Growing connections Refugees are at higher risk of poor mental health but less likely to seek help, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Possible barriers include a lack of understanding or trust in the new healthcare system, stigma around mental illness, and limited finances, language skills or transport. The BELS garden project aims to help young people escape social isolation and forge ties to their new community. "Gardening is a way for those students to connect and it doesn't rely solely on their English skills," local Headspace cultural connections coordinator Ruby Huang said. "It provides a safe space for our young people to share their traditions, their knowledge … working together," she said. She hopes the project will blossom into a pathway from paddock to plate. "The idea is for them to grow what they eat and eat what they grow," she said. "Imagine that one day they bring produce from the garden back home for their parents to cook — that'd be so, so exciting." Mental oxygen Albert is not the only student to hold fond memories of food production. "Something that all our newly arrived students can really connect with is gardening," said science teacher Regina Glass. "There's a number of community gardens in the Wodonga area that are primarily run by migrants." The school's 21 students from Congolese, Vietnamese, Nepalese and Indian backgrounds will use the garden as part of their science curriculum. Ms Glass said the project provided cognitive breathing space for children overloaded with the demands of learning a new language. "Anyone who has been overseas to somewhere where they don't speak the language will know how tired people are after a day of trying to navigate the world in a different language," she said. "It's not like sitting in a class just being talked at." For young Albert, it has also opened up dreams for the future. "When I have my own money, I can have my own farm and I can work in the garden," he said.