DAE-SHAWNA Row Row took lessons from a masterchef of a different kind yesterday.

The Berserker Street State School Year 5 student and classmates Ricci House, Jennifer Barlow and Hollie-Marie Baldwin joined their entire school in celebrating the school's very own NAIDOC Day.

Along with a range of traditional indigenous activities including bark painting, dance and sports, the school's students were shown how to grow, prepare and cook vegetables underground by Torres Strait Islander Poy Pensio.

Coupled with modern day favourites potato, sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot, the quartet learnt how to use traditional indigenous vegetables casabo and taro.

Utilising the school's vegetable garden, students worked with Poy learning to cook the vegetables, chicken and fish using the traditional kapamuri cooking method of underground cooking.

Poy, Rockhampton Bidgerdii Community Health Service's chronic disease manager, said the day was about more than teaching the students how to cook.

"We teach them how to plough the ground, plant the vegetables and maintain their garden to ensure the garden is sustainable," he said.

"We also show them the traditional, healthy way of cooking and portioning the food."

The school's indigenous education worker Tenille Sealy said NAIDOC Day was very important given the school's high indigenous population.