Term 4 2023 – One Year In…
…and look where we are now!
We have had a busy and exciting term four. Once again we have been generously supported by businesses and community members who have helped develop our garden space. In week one Phillip and Miguel from Avocado New Zealand came to school with five donated avocado trees. They worked with us showing us how to plant them and put up wind cloth barriers around each tree. We are lucky that they will continue to support us to keep these trees happy and healthy.
Continuing with the theme of donations TopLine Carpenters built five picnic tables, which were generously funded by local community groups, the current board of trustees and TopLine Carpenters themselves. It has been great to have a space where we can sit to sow seeds, pot up seedlings, enjoy kai and do projects!
One such project was making pots out of tin cans to sell seedlings at the Christmas picnic. Every student in the class got to use a hammer and nail to make drainage holes in their can, fill it with pumice and soil and then sow a seed. It was great seeing Te Ara Rua’s creativity with decorating the cans, they looked awesome!
Every group had a go at cooking kale chips this term, and every time it was hugely popular with every crumb being eaten! We also had a go at making green smoothies and broadbean dip.
Other important mahi was pulling out our garlic which has been growing since June, and harvesting calendula seed and drying calendula flowers - maybe we can try making a balm with them next year?!
Just before the end of the school year we were thrilled to learn that our container which will be our garden shed was going to be arriving! This is so exciting and so necessary as the classroom space we had been storing all our tools for the year is going to be filled with kai manawa next year.
It has been an incredible year seeing what was an empty space in term one, turn into a huge and functional garden where students have all had the opportunity to experience and learn the joys of gardening. Together we have achieved so much, I look forward to seeing what we can achieve and learn in 2024!