19/06/2026
Today the Earth Stewards Year 1 and Pre-Primary friends from St Joseph's got their hands dirty, their hearts full, and their imaginations soaring in the garden.
🍠 We dug up sweet potatoes and turmeric, discovering the magic hiding beneath the soil.
🍌 We investigated a banana corm and marvelled at how it stores its own water — nature's clever design at work!
🪱 We went worm hunting (we didn't have to look far!) because healthy soil means healthy food means healthy kids!
☕ We brewed fresh herbal tea with what we'd grown (pandan, lemongrass, lemon basil and lime leaf) and enjoyed it together with morning tea.
🌤️ We breathed with the sun — breathing in from the east, breathing out to the west — feeling our place in this big, beautiful world.
🌺 We ate passionfruit straight off the vine — the best kind of snack. Delicious!!
🌱 We got muddy in play (obviously 😄), shared stories about wishes and dreams, and planted seedlings carrying those dreams into the earth.
WOWZERS we had fun!
This isn't just play — this is learning. Connecting, socialising, wondering, belonging. Every moment today was alive with the Early Years Learning Framework — children as capable, curious learners; identity rooted in belonging and community; wellbeing nurtured through real, sensory, joyful experience.
It echoes Pope Francis's call in Laudato Si' to care for our Common Home — teaching the next generation that the Earth is not a resource to be used, but a gift to be cherished and stewarded with love. 💚
Through the lens of permaculture ethics — Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share — and the principles, the children are already playing with and living what many adults are still learning.
And as part of the Little Footprints Big Futures initiative, we're reminded that small hands and gentle steps today shape the world of tomorrow. 🐾🌍
To every child who dug, stirred, tasted, listened and dreamed today — you are the future we're all planting for and your smiles of curiosity and joy are a beacon.🌻
