Welcome back to a new school year and another year growing and showing your plants.

In September last year the Orchids In Schools (OIS) program welcomed the newest and first regional school. Woomera Area School – under the leadership of Tony Holden and a willing group of teachers, support staff and students – will all be involved in various ways with growing their orchid collection. They have one shade house operational and a second under construction, so the plants will have good growing conditions to match the harsh Summers and Winters that will come their way. When I went to Woomera last year, Tony indicated to me that they will be attending the Royal Adelaide Show in 2018, so hopefully they will have a plant or two in flower for the schools competition.

The 2017 Royal Show was a great success, with all participating schools attending to take part in the stage presentations. Willunga Primary School was attending for the first time and all six students had a great time.

Kildare College won the Champion School Orchid prize at the Royal Show and Willunga High School took out the Champion School Orchid Display and overall Champion Orchid Display prizes. Both schools set the bar high with these wins but will have to fight off stiff competition from other schools in 2018.

New students are currently receiving the annual hand-out of sample bottles of Neutrog’s Strike Back For Orchids, as well as one litre bottles being distributed for fertilising the school plant collections. Remember that Neutrog Fertilisers are sponsors of the Orchids In Schools program.

The future of the OIS program looks healthy in South Australia and the program has received attention from both NSW and Queensland. It is envisaged that the program will expand over time, as it proves to be both fun for the students as well as educational.

Mentors and students are encouraged to submit articles and approved for publication images to the manager of OIS to be posted on this page. Please send all articles to  tsgarard@gmail.com

I wish all participating schools the best for the upcoming growing year.

Trevor Garard, OCSA Education Officer

The Orchids In Schools program is an initiative of the Orchid Club of South Australia. Started in 2011 it has grown each year and now has 5 schools involved across suburban Adelaide with regional schools showing interest.

The program is based around orchid mentors overseeing students who give up their lunch break once a week to learn about orchid culture and form a small orchid club within their school.
A curriculum is used to ensure that the students at all schools are given the same information and opportunity. There are no tests or learning outcomes for the students with the emphasis on having fun as they progress. Most hardware and plants are donated by club members or members of the public at large.

The participating schools are given honorary member status by OCSA which allows them to participate in all OCSA functions including monthly and major plant competitions.
In a welcome move, local manufacturer Neutrog has sponsored all the fertiliser needs of the OIS program donating their ‘Strikeback For Orchids’ liquid fertiliser and other products.