Skippies won't steal Keppel Sands' lunch this year

Last year's STEM lunch goes awry when local louts help themselves to students' labour

Shahamai Warcon, Rylie Delahoy and Zekey Mann of with Ebony Fattore, Assist Marketing Manager at Stocklands which provided a community grant for Keppel Sands School's garden. Picture: Jann Houley

JUST days before Keppel Sands School students were ready to share the spoils of their gardens with friends and family last year, a disaster befell them.

"We didn't have fences around our garden so the kangaroos jumped over the fence and ate all our veges,” said student leader Rylie Delahoy.

Rylie and other school leaders joined principal Julie Hanak in thanking Stockland Rockhampton for the $1000 grant which allowed their lunch to flourish this year.

Other recipients of the 2019 CARE grants program included Brothers Australian football club, South Rockhampton girl guides, Playgroup Queensland and the Lakes Creek State School P&C association.

Mrs Hanak explained the gardens are a valuable source of STEM education for the school's 23 students.

"In terms of science, they can study plant biology, and then there are the technical aspects to choosing the raised bed design.

Engineering involves the construction of the gardens and for mathematics, we measure the amount of produce we get to share.”

This year, the school has been able to install an enclosure to protect their food crops from the local marsupials.

"When people come out to our STEM lunch, they compliment our garden and how well it's doing,” said Rylie.

"Our role as student leaders means we have to show everyone how we're meant to act... but the kangaroos don't listen to us.”

Originally published as Skippies won't steal Keppel Sands' lunch this year