On the 18th and 23rd of August, Koobara embarked on our annual visit to the Rolin Strawberry Farm at Elimbah.  The children excitedly looked for strawberry signs on the bus journey there, and we talked about the things we might see!

Our deadly friend, Rev, welcomed us and after an Acknowledgement of the Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi Country that the farm is on, the jarjums acquainted themselves with the Rolin playground.  They Koobara kids especially loved being gammin farmers on the little tractor in the playground!

After morning tea, it was time for us to pick some strawberries of our own.  The staff gave each of the children a punnet to put their strawberries in – and several of the kids wrote their own names on their lids.  We talked with the children about the colour that the strawberries need to be which tells us that the fruit is ripe.  Rev set us all a challenge to find the biggest strawberry and the ugliest strawberry.  Some of the kids took this challenge really seriously!

When the children ate some of their strawberries after picking, we talked about what they tasted like.  Many remarked on how “sweet” and “juicy” they were.  And lots of kids were excited to take them home and share them with siblings.

This yearly visit to the strawberry farm is an important part of our program because not only does it allow the children to see and learn where their food comes from, but it has become a beautiful opportunity for lots of the families to be involved in this experience.  The Koobara kids are also keen to grow their bodies to be healthy and strong – and they know that eating fruit does this!