Austenham House Garden, Outdoor Lessons and Community Greenspace

The present western greenspace of Orange Grove Public School is the site of the historic Austenham House Gardens.

Orange Grove Public School, formerly Leichhardt West Superior School, along with Annandale and Camperdown Superior Schools, was known for its school gardens and outdoor learning programs at a time when agricultural education was considered an essential part of learning for life. The garden teaching programs of Inner West schools were featured in numerous newspaper and journal articles.

Orange Grove cultivated gardens from around 1900 along 'Wharf Street' (now Balmain Rd), which was largely a paddock, at the time, and on its larger western portion (acquired in 1889 and in 1912). By 1904, the school had expanded its gardens and experimental farm on the western side to a total of one acre 'where many varieties ... are to be seen at various stages of cultivation, along with abundance of flowers which blossom all the year round' (DT Nov 1901). From 1912, the school cultivated additional land and also purchased an 'apparatus' as play equipment.

Under the leadership of Headmaster Mr Henderson, teachers with expertise and dedication in agriculture were engaged to lead outdoor teaching and manage the extensive gardens. The outdoor teaching program proved highly successful, reflected in the students' academic achievements. The Sunday Times reported in Feb 2018 "At recent qualifying examinations pupils from the Orange Grove Public School (Balmain) achieved a notable success. Out of 41 boys 38 passed, whilst 19 out of 22 girls were successful, the average being equal to 90 percent."

This tradition of school children tending to their garden, found its continuation in the popular garden classes by Sustainability Coordinator Scuba until June 2022.

BENEFITS OF GREEN SPACE

OUTDOOR LESSONS

OTHER SCHOOLS

Students attending school gardens in 1912 (Town and Country Journal).

The OGPS Greenspace along Emmerick St is the exact location of the former gardens of the now demolished Austenham House.

This area was originally proposed by Inner West Council's heritage architects for inclusion in the extension of the Austenham Estate Heritage Conservation Area.

Here’s an interesting twist: School Infrastructure NSW (SINSW) engaged the same heritage architects, seemingly to justify their proposed new buildings on the Greenspace. On September 8, 2023, the P&C submitted a new master plan to SINSW, highlighting the proposed inclusion of the Greenspace in the Austenham Heritage Conservation Area. If officially included, this heritage status would impose restrictions and would likely complicate or hinder SINSW’s development plans.

Just six days later, during a Local Planning Panel (LPP) meeting on September 14, 2023, the same heritage architects reversed their earlier recommendation and claimed that the inclusion of the former Austenham Gardens into the Austenham Conservation Area was done in error (refer IWC Minutes).

THE BENEFITS OF GREEN SPACE FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS

The health benefits of accessible green space in urban environments are well recognised for children, whose physical and mental development is enhanced by playing and learning in green environments.

Studies show that green space, particularly green space away from busy traffic, improve concentration and academic performance in children. (See 2 below) As such, quality green space in schools will ideally be situated adjacent to the least busy roads.

In addition to improving cognitive development, daily access to green space has been shown to improve children’s mental, emotional and social, and physical well-being. UNICEF has noted some of these positive effects include:

More physical activity
Better balance and motor coordination
Less likely to develop near-sightedness
Improve cognitive development and academic performance
Reduced parenting stress
Increased concern for nature
Stronger neighbourhood social cohesion
Fewer behavioural and social problems
Increased mental health and well-being and reduced stress and depression, including in adverse circumstances such as humanitarian contexts

Green space is usually defined as vegetated space and may include grass, mulched bark, trees, bushes, hedges, and gardens.

Children play differently on soft green spaces. Where hard surfaces (concrete and formalised sports courts) can discourage appropriate risk-taking and stunt imaginative play, soft green spaces encourage safer risks whether running, swerving, climbing and more. Creating innovative games that reference the various plants, trees, and spaces between them is another positive benefit of a soft green playground. Developing creativity is well-recognised as central to children’s cognitive development.

Green school playgrounds are increasingly thought to be of particular benefit to children with unique learning needs including autism and ADHD.

Spontaneous physical activity before school and during school breaks is vital for children’s physical and mental health. In a culture attempting to reduce obesity, daily spontaneous exercise that does not demand additional household expenditure or a formal plan from a busy adult (e.g. an afterschool drive to formal sports practice or a supervised trip to the park) is crucial. Soft green playgrounds on site at school provide an accessible and safe environment for cost-neutral, achievable, stress-free spontaneous exercise every weekday.

Green playgrounds in schools ensure that children and teachers stay cool in a world confronted by the heat-island effect of increasing urbanisation and a climate that is warming. Green playgrounds also provide a daily connection with the natural world that can spark a lifelong awareness of the centrality of the natural environment in human survival.

Green school playgrounds contribute to biodiversity by making space for plant and animal species. Biodiversity corridors through urban areas are considered crucial in state and municipal environment policies. In addition to providing shade and habitat trees, unsealed vegetated surfaces also enhance the environment by allowing rainwater to permeate soils.

Schools worldwide are being encouraged to incorporate on-site biodiversity and horticultural education into their learning programmes – just as Scuba has been doing for many years at Orange Grove.

Green spaces in urban schools will become increasingly important as communities continue to become denser. Schools-of-the-Future will need to share their precious green spaces with the local community after school-hours. There is already discussion of this type of initiative within the NSW Department of Education, and there is already precedent for this in some of our local high schools. Programmes considered innovative like the Paris Oasis Programme (see 4 below) are already explicitly doing this. This is no time to shrink or erase schools’ green playgrounds. The well-being and interests of future children, parents, and communities must be considered.

Already the Inner West Council Area has the second-lowest amount of green space per head of population in NSW. Annual new housing targets from the NSW Government will guarantee more density and spread this limited current green space even thinner. Precious green spaces in schools must be preserved, shared, and, where possible, expanded.

OUTDOOR LESSONS UNDER THE FIGTREE

The much-loved sustainability and garden lessons under the figtree

OGPS Students watering the Garden 2016.jpg

The once-flourishing OG School Garden was re-established 15 years ago by horticulturalist and school parent James Butchart, under Principal Karen Jamieson, after a long period of neglect. It was lovingly expanded and developed into a structured learning program, featuring outdoor lessons and volunteer garden clubs, led by much-loved educators Ms Keane and Ms Stackpool.

These educators brought not only a passion for the school garden and the native animal population of the Orange Grove greenspace, but also initiated the school’s first sustainability program. Students’ learning and experiences in the garden were regularly featured in the weekly school newsletter, often including observations of resident species, such as catching a glimpse of newly hatched Tawny Frogmouth chicks.

The school garden and its educators also provided a safe, peaceful retreat for students seeking a break from the stresses of indoor classroom learning. It was an inclusive space that welcomed parents and carers to participate in school life as garden helpers during outdoor class time.

Below are some extracts from the Garden News section of the OGPS Newsletters.

OUTDOOR LESSONS AT CAMPERDOWN AND ANNADALE SUPERIOR SCHOOLS

Gardening classses at Annandale Superior School in 1912.