Hidden Garden Treasures
What a year it has been at Golden Sands School! I can’t believe I’ve only been working there since this year when we started re-establishing the school garden back in May. It feels like the garden has been there much longer. We’ve already got thirteen garden beds, a shed and we planted the first fruit trees, everything looks so well-established.
Term 4 flew by so quickly as the garden kept us busy, as always. We found garden treasures nearly every week, and I loved watching the tamariki marvel at how things have grown as we rotated four classes through the garden each week.
Of course, the most loved treasures are edibles, but there are also treasures like beautiful flowers, buzzing bees, and worms hiding in the soil. From what was once just a grass patch, we’ve created a place to learn about biodiversity.
We harvested some extraordinary rainbow carrots, including one that measured over 30 cm! It took us a while to wiggle it out, just like a loose tooth. The tamariki were proud to take home a carrot each, alongside heaps of colorful radishes. We also discovered some juicy strawberries, cabbages, and a vegetable unfamiliar to the kids “kohlrabi”.
We cut the kohlrabi into slices and tried something new. It turns out you can eat kohlrabi raw, and it has a sweet taste, similar to broccoli.
The garden has been very dry, so watering kept us busy every week. The kids always prefer using watering cans — they seem to enjoy the idea of caring for the plants and keeping them happy.
We also learned that not everything in the garden is edible, and it’s important to be careful about what we pick. For example, while our potato plants were thriving, their flowers and berries are actually poisonous.
That didn’t stop us from preparing for our Christmas potato harvest! It was a thrilling garden gold treasure hunt and a fantastic experience for our new Year One learners to uncover so many potatoes hiding in the soil. And what a bumper harvest it was! We even found red potatoes, which was an extra surprise. Together, we filled about 25 paper bags to take home and share with families.
We’ve also planted summer crops like pumpkins, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, and kumara tipu, which we raised ourselves by letting a kumara sprout in water. We will let nature take its course over the long holidays, and fingers crossed, we’ll discover more treasures when we return to school!
As the year comes to a close, I feel incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together in such a short time. The garden has become a vibrant, living classroom where tamariki learn, grow, and connect with nature. It’s been a joy to see their curiosity and excitement. I’m looking forward to another year of growth, learning, and plenty of garden treasures in 2025!