Community vegie patch interest grows

Would-be chefs at South Hedland Primary School were lucky enough to learn cooking tips from a celebrity chef last week.

The Year 3 students picked parsley, basil and oregano from the school's community garden before helping Masterchef contestant Liliana Battle assemble trays of bruschetta.

Ms Battle encouraged the children to smell the harvested herbs as they placed them into large wooden salad bowls ready for preparation.

Present on the day was Care for Hedland Environmental Association garden program co-ordinator Alexandra Sakalidis, who helped with harvesting and cooking.

"We've chosen the class that has been involved with the school veggie patch to participate," she said.

"We thought we'd use the produce that we've got from our new veggie patch and harvest those with Liliana to make bruschetta with tomato topping."

One by one the remaining classes from SHPS trickled into the under cover area to sample the food and have a tour of the patch.

SHPS principal Narelle Ward said the day was thoroughly enjoyable.

"We have a long-term vision to help our kids develop healthy eating habits," she said.

"The new garden has created a lot of buzz in the school communuity."

Ms Ward said, as she walked through the garden last Tuesday, she was impressed with the interest the new addition was generating among students.

"The students were all in and around the garden, touching all the herbs and testing out all the scents," she said.