A seed sown early last year – to plant a garden at Alexandria Park Community School – has grown beyond everyone’s wildest dreams.

What started as a modest plan to give students an attractive out-door area has grown into a multi-dimensional project incorporating a vegie garden, recreational area, an indigenous boys’ dance circle defined by totems, an indigenous women’s cultural area and a community garden.

The Year 9 students first chosen to participate started with clearing a mosquito-infested pond then prepared a garden patch to grow herbs and vegies that could be used by the school’s hospitality class and the adjacent aged-care community centre.

Before long industry, government and training organisations pitched in, not only with funding, but practical help.

The Australian Brick and Block Laying Training Foundation, for instance, showed students how to lay bricks while Sydney City Council funded and supervised students laying asphalt.

The collaboration’s benefits are numerous. The rejuvenation work has boosted attendance rates at the school and is also giving students valuable skills for the future.

This year TAFE offered to enrol participating students aged at least 15 in a Certificate I horticulture course.

Twelve Year 9 and 10 students, including girls, are involved in this year’s gardening and landscaping work. TAFE will issue younger students with letters of acknowledgement.

Principal of the multicultural 350-student campus Anne-Marie Vine said while the next step was to extend these new-found skills with work experience, “our foremost thought is them staying on at school or going to something like TAFE rather than simply dropping out”.

“We’re trying to show them they’re capable of achieving skills that would be recognised by outside bodies,” Ms Vine said.

Year 10 participant Jacob S said: “I enjoyed it because it was fun and outside doing active things instead of in the classroom writing.”

He was happy to help “make the school look good because when I first came here it didn’t look so good and now it looks heaps better than before”.

He has also enjoyed the social and vocational side.

“It got me to meet new guys from out of school so now I can say hello when I see them … and it’s good to get a certificate from something I enjoy.”

Year 3 student Kieran M was impressed with the outdoor dance circle.

“When we dance at school, we can dance in our own dance circle,” he said. “It’s good when other people watch us dance. I really wanted my mum and dad to see me dance. It wasn’t hard work clearing the garden. I enjoyed working with the men. I like helping other people when they need help.”