School Activities

Northey Street City Farm offers a range of educational activities suitable for all age groups.  These activities provide students with an opportunity to learn about permaculture practices and experience the life of an urban farm. They have also been designed to work across curriculum and fit a number of learning outcomes.

A photo of a table full of childrens' clay creations and buckets holding paintbrushes.

Why Visit Our Farm?

Bring your curriculum to life for your students with a visit to our vibrant, green oasis. Northey St City Farm is the perfect “living classroom” for exploring ways to create a regenerative future. Investigate our fruit orchards, food forests, vegetable gardens, bush tucker garden, composting systems, chooks, European and native bees, worms and more! We love to share our passion for sustainability and learning! Take a look at our current options below or please reach out to our Youth Education Coordinator to discuss your groups’ specific needs and interests youthedn@nscf.org.au.

Tour Options

Take an interactive and sensory walk through the food gardens, fruit orchards, food forests, and recycling systems of Northey Street City Farm. Meet the farm and wildlife which make NSCF their safe haven and taste the yummy honey from our bees. 

Cost: $14 p/participant ($220 group minimum) GST inclusive 

Take an interactive and sensory walk through the food gardens, fruit orchards, food forests, and recycling systems of Northey Street City Farm. Then, undertake one of the following hands-on activities: 

  • Compost-making
  • Explore the different compost systems on the farm, experience what is needed to create compost, and learn about its benefits. 
  • Cost: $18 p/participant ($280 group minimum) GST inclusive 
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  • Propagation
  • Discuss different methods of propagation and get your hands dirty while propagating some of the plants found around our gardens.  

Cost: $20 p/participant ($300 group minimum) GST inclusive 

  • Soil investigation
  • Investigate soil health and explore its role in the web of life. Collect soil samples from our gardens and conduct tests to understand the elements that may impact plant growth and erosion. 

Cost: $18 p/participant ($280 group minimum) GST inclusive 

  • Native Foods exploration
  • Take a walk around the farm to explore the smells, textures, and tastes of some Australian native plants. 

Cost: $18 p/participant ($280 group minimum) GST inclusive 

  • Earth Connection
  • Take a sensory walk through the bush regeneration area and observe the flora and fauna around you.
    • This grounding activity may involve learning bird language, practicing sit spots, journaling, and/or creating ephemeral nature mosaics. 

    Cost: $18 p/participant ($280 group minimum) GST inclusive 

Take a guided tour of the City Farm to see permaculture in action, with a focus on curriculum linked topics according to the year level and interests of the group. After the tour, students have a chance to engage in one of the hands-on activities described below.   

Teachers can choose one or more topic areas for their group. Click HERE to find the topics. 

Hands-on activities to choose from: 

  • Compost-making Explore the different compost systems on the farm, experience what is needed to create compost, and learn about its benefits. 

Cost: $18 p/participant ($280 group minimum) GST inclusive 

  • Soil investigation Investigate soil health and explore its role in the web of life. Collect soil samples from our gardens and conduct tests to understand the elements that may impact plant growth and erosion. 

Cost: $18 p/participant ($280 group minimum) GST inclusive 

  • Propagation Discuss different methods of propagation and get your hands dirty while propagating some of the plants found around our gardens. 

Cost: $20 p/participant ($300 group minimum) GST inclusive 

Take a guided tour of the City Farm to see permaculture in action. Students learn how permaculture can contribute to food security and provide an important alternative to conventional agriculture. An education kit with curriculum-linked worksheets and resources for teachers is available for the ‘Biomes and Food Security’ Year 9 Geography unit. 

After the tour, students have a chance to engage in one of the following hands-on activities: 

  • Compost-making Explore the different compost systems on the farm, experience what is needed to create compost, and learn about its benefits. 
  • Soil investigation Investigate soil health and explore its role in the web of life. Collect soil samples from our gardens and conduct tests to understand the elements that may impact plant growth and erosion. 
  • Propagation Discuss different methods of propagation and get your hands dirty while propagating some of the plants found around our gardens.  
  • Mapping Explore the concept of permaculture zones, food forests, and experience what is involved in designing a garden that contributes to food security. Participants can choose to map different areas of the farm including the market garden, the kitchen garden, the backyard garden, the native food and medicine garden, the orchard, the allotment gardens, and the woodlot, or create their own design. 
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How it works: During the booking, teachers can choose one of the activity combinations: 

  • Compost making + Mapping 

Cost: $18 p/participant ($280 group minimum) GST inclusive 

  • Soil investigation + Mapping 

Cost: $18 p/participant ($280 group minimum) GST inclusive 

  • Propagation + Mapping 
  • Cost: $20 p/participant ($300 group minimum) GST inclusive 

    • Alternatively, teachers can choose one activity only 
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    • On the day of the tour, students will engage in one of the activities in groups of up to 20 participants. To save time, we recommend that teachers explain the options to their students and organise them into groups based on their choices before arrival. The purpose of offering these combinations of activities is to provide schools and students with choices that cater to their diverse interests, abilities, and curiosities.  

Bookings are not paid until after your visit, so there is no financial commitment when making a tentative booking.

To ensure arrangements can be made, a minimum advance notice of three weeks is usually sufficient.

We will contact you to confirm the details and booking and you will be invoiced after your visit.

Teacher Testimonials

OMG, our trip was absolutely amazing! The children had so much fun and learned so many new things. They had numerous experiences, from rubbing leaves between their fingers to feeding chooks, checking out a bush turkey’s nest, picking and eating fresh vegetables and wild plums, exploring the inside of a beehive, and tasting the honey. I was in the group led by Richard, who was truly amazing with the kids — so patient and accommodating. The other educators were fantastic as well. We really want to thank them for their patience with our kids and for giving us the incredible opportunity to visit your farm. A special thank you to Bob! Many of the children mentioned that meeting him was one of the highlights of the trip.

Anna Megueria, Classroom Teacher, 1/2A
Runcorn Heights State School

Enquiries

Any enquiries can be made directly through the Youth Education Coordinator:

Phone: 3857 8775
Email: youthedn@nscf.org.au

ABN: 16 494 592 971

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