PiPS at Waihi Beach Kura

Term 1 was full of activity! Our brand new PiPS program got underway in week 5 and in just six weeks our gardening activities had a big impact on the space. We undertook lots of little projects both indoors and out, which gave the tamariki an introduction to what is involved in growing food. At then end of the term we sat down with the children and asked them what some of their favourite activities were. Here are some of their collective highlights…

What a mess the summer growth had made! We got to work laying black plastic over the kikuyu to suppress and kill it ready for new garden beds. The kids had fun using a drill to dismantle some of the old rotting garden beds. 

We repotted strawberry plants from the rotting beds into a garden pod as well as plastic pots and bags. Some of the children took plants home for their own gardens.

While we wait for our new garden bed area to die off (which will take a few months) we’ve decided to create a temporary garden bed in the orchard. The children helped mark out two long rows, dig in compost and plant brassica, silverbeet and spring onions.

Seed saving proved popular, with children quickly mastering the art of origami envelopes to store their sunflower seeds in, ready for planting next spring. We saved seeds from a variety of sunflowers both big and small, orange and yellow. Some of the children tried to eat a few while they were at it - the kids are always asking if they can eat the plants we’re working with in the garden. 

Pumpkin soup and cheese and herb scones were a hit! While some of the team were in the kitchen, the rest of our group were outside with Ben planting winter vegetables in our newly prepared beds.

Check out our fancy new hot compost bins! Thank you to Tim and Richard from Carbon Cycle from coming to our kura to set it up and teach us how to build our first bin up with compost.

Back into the kitchen on our last day of term to make some delicious herb tea. Lemongrass tea was the most popular, but we all enjoyed trying Kawakawa and lemon balm too. Ben also brought in some chestnuts for us to cook and enjoy with butter and salt - yum!