The vegetable garden and greenhouse were built at the school on Tuesday with help from team members from Bunnings Warehouse in Fyshwick as well as 25 students.

While Yarralumla Primary School already has a pre-existing garden, the new garden will be for the after school care students.

After school care program manager Liam Hannan said the aim of the new garden is to build awareness for the environment.

“It also teaches them about sustainability and how plant life can grow,” he said.

“The school doesn't have much access to the [existing] garden, but here they can go and cook with the herbs they planted or take them home. It gives them a sense of ownership.”

Planning for the new vegetable and herb garden has been under way since the beginning of this year.

As part of the construction efforts on Tuesday, the students were also briefed about how best to look after their new crop.

“They planted a few strawberry seeds as well as some basil and other herbs like oregano and rosemary,” Mr Hannan said.

“They also gave us some other vegetable seeds to plant in the next few weeks.”

While there are lessons on caring for the environment already in the curriculum, Mr Hannan said the new garden will allow for after school care students to have a hands-on approach.

“This was brought in brand new and it gives an incentive for the students to get involved,” he said.

“They're gaining important life skills as well as responsibility.”

While the school year is coming to a close, the new garden will be looked after by school staff during the summer holidays.

Activities are already being planned for the after school care students involving the garden in the weeks ahead.

Mr Hanna said he already has plans to expand the new garden next year.

“The next stage would be to build a compose bin next to it and have a bigger veggie patch as well,” he said.