Meet Yuin and Nabil – two young men getting stuck into horticulture as part of their year 10 work experience and Youth Community Greening. Read on to learn about their journey with the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.
Starting from the ground up
The Royal Botanic Garden’s Youth Community Greening program has been assisting Macquarie Fields High School to redevelop their old agricultural area into an Environmental Learning Space.
After the project commenced it was evident that some of the students took genuine ownership of the transformation and took control of aspects of the project. Two of these students were Yuin and Nabil, Year 10 students who saw the opportunity to make their mark on the space and develop their design and leadership skills. With the support of the school Principal and staff they have taken charge of developing the Indigenous garden space with amazing results.
Nabil and Yuin with Phil Pettit from the Community Greening team
When the Youth Community Greening team delivered a teacher professional learning day at their school earlier this year Nabil and Yuin were invited to assist with the presentations. The teachers involved were so impressed and gave such positive feedback about the students that Community Greening and the Royal Botanic Garden offered the two students the opportunity to join them as part of their Year 10 work experience.
Yuin and Nabil assist horticulturalist Kayte Wilke with the summer meadow
On site at the Royal Botanic Garden and out in the community
During the five days of work experience the boys tried their hands at a variety of roles based at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. They worked as part of the Aboriginal Education program, assisting with tours and sharing their own knowledge of native plants. They also worked in community gardens with the Community Greening team, visiting locations such as the Street University in Liverpool.
On site at the Royal Botanic Garden the students assisted horticultural staff in the construction of the Summer Meadow and presented workshops to primary aged students at the Youth Eco Summit.
Already keen horticulturalists at school, the students said they learnt a lot during their five days with the Garden and really enjoyed getting out of the classroom to see what kind of career opportunities are available to them.
Yuin shares his knowledge with primary school students at the Youth Eco Summit
What's next?
As a result of a successful start with Yuin and Nabil, the Community Greening team will look to provide this opportunity to more students in the future.
We also look forward to seeing the amazing garden that these two students are creating at their school, which will be a resource and legacy for Macquarie Fields High School for years to come.
Nabil and Yuin at their Macquarie Fields High School garden
Find out more about Youth Community Greening, Community Greening and the team's Learning Through Gardening professional development for teachers.