WaterUps partnering with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation

The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation has partnered with wicking system specialists WaterUps to make gardening easier and more water-wise for schools and early childhood services across Australia.

School and early learning gardens can be brilliant learning spaces, until the reality hits: heat, holidays, staff changeovers, and the simple fact that someone has to water everything… constantly. This partnership is about reducing that load, so gardens are more likely to survive and actually thrive.

WaterUps modular wicking systems water plants from below, helping maintain more consistent moisture with less effort. In many settings, that results in reduced water use and more reliable moisture compared with traditional surface watering, and longer gaps between refills. Systems are designed to scale across common education setups, from planters and raised beds to retrofits, and suitable open-soil applications.

The Kitchen Garden Program is recognised for its hands-on, curriculum-linked approach to pleasurable food education, helping children and young people build positive food, wellbeing and sustainability habits for life. This partnership supports that work by helping school and early learning gardens become more resilient through heat, holidays and staff absences. 

Olly White, Education and Business Manager at WaterUps, said:

“We're proud to partner with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation and support the incredible impact of the Kitchen Garden Program in schools and early childhood services. Having seen the Foundation's work firsthand through our sponsorship of the National Kitchen Garden Awards 2025, we're excited to expand into a multi-year partnership that will help members grow more fresh food with less maintenance and make gardening even easier. WaterUps modular wicking systems help make schools and early learning gardens more resilient through heat and holidays so programs are easier to run and more likely to thrive.” 

Kitchen Garden Program member pricing and offers 

Kitchen Garden Program members can access WaterUps member pricing, offers and support by completing the WaterUps member access form HERE, and learn more about our partnership HERE.

New Kitchen Garden Program members also receive a free WaterUps Square Planter as part of the member offer.

For questions about  Kitchen Garden Program membership, contact the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation team at:

membership@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au 

(or call 13000 72543)

Not a Kitchen Garden Program member, or not sure where to start?

If a school, early childhood service, or community group is not part of the Kitchen Garden Program, WaterUps can still help map out a practical, low-maintenance approach for the space and budget.

Olly White leads education and community projects at WaterUps. Olly is a former high school teacher and previously led sustainability programs in schools, with plenty of firsthand experience in what makes gardens succeed long-term and what usually causes them to stall. These days, the focus is helping schools and services choose the right WaterUps setup for their context, whether that’s planters, raised beds, retrofits, or suitable open-soil applications.

For advice, sizing help, or a quick recommendation, reach out directly: oliver.white@waterups.com.au