Soil to Stomach
Regenerate & Create: Engaging students in regenerative agriculture, creative expression, and hands-on learning that nurtures both people and the environment.
Capacity building - LEP_035_LLC
The issue
Many young people have limited opportunities to explore regenerative agriculture and the critical connections between soil health, food systems, biodiversity, and community wellbeing. Without hands-on exposure, understanding of how soil underpins the food we eat, the animals and pollinators that sustain ecosystems, and the broader environmental and social impacts of food choices remains abstract. Schools often lack immersive, field-based programs that integrate ecological literacy, practical skills, and creative engagement to help students grasp how human choices shape landscapes and future sustainability.
The solution
Watershed Landcare delivered Regenerate & Create: Soil to Stomach, a three-day immersive program engaging 60 Year 9 students from Melbourne in regenerative agriculture. Students worked in groups to design and build a food and pollinator garden, planting, mulching, and observing soil life to understand nutrient cycles and energy flow. The “Create” component allowed students to express learning through art, including cardboard sculptures with Gabrielle Bates and a tile mosaic with Laura Fisher, linking ecological understanding with creative reflection and community storytelling.
The impact
Students gained practical skills in garden design, planting, and food system management while deepening their ecological literacy. Through observing soil life, pollinators, and energy flows, they connected classroom theory to hands-on experience. Creative art projects enabled reflection on the impact of human choices on landscapes and climate. Participants reported stronger engagement with both peers and the Landcare community, while the resulting gardens and collaborative artworks provide visible, lasting demonstrations of learning, care, and regenerative practice that will be showcased at local events and ongoing Watershed Landcare programs.
Creativity in Action: Engaging Youth Through Art
Regenerate & Create: Soil to Stomach demonstrated how art can make complex environmental issues, such as soil health, food systems, and climate change, tangible and engaging for young people. By expressing their learning through sculpture, mosaics, and visual storytelling, students deepened understanding, reflected on their experiences, and communicated ideas creatively, highlighting the potential of artistic approaches as a powerful tool in environmental education and Landcare engagement.
Key facts
- 60 Year 9 students joined a three-day immersive program.
- Hands-on garden design, planting, and soil exploration taught regenerative agriculture.
- Creative projects helped students express and reflect on learning.
- Connections between youth, community, and Landcare were strengthened.
- The garden and artworks provide lasting, visible evidence of engagement.