No waste: Port Chalmers Kindergarten children Liam
Bryant-Landreth (foreground) and Hugh Gardiner (both 4)
show Tui School Garden Challenge national rep Lianne
Wilson, of Auckland, radishes they grew in a donated
toilet, while James Huston (2) looks on. Supplied photo.
The children of Port Chalmers Kindergarten were given a
big green thumbs up when they were visited by Tui School Garden
Challenge judges earlier this month.
The Port Chalmers kindergarten is one of five early childhood
section finalists in the competition, which aims to find the
best school garden in New Zealand. More than 600 schools are
competing in the challenge, with final judging scheduled to
take place on November 21.
Head teacher Julie Peters said the children took great pride
in showing off their gardens.
Because of the school operating from temporary premises, the
kindergarten decided to get creative with the challenge and
make a portable vege patch, she said.
"Families brought in old containers including kettles, an old
television shell, pots, a treasure chest, handbag, an old
wheelbarrow, a hollowed-out log from the beach, and one of
our gardening grandmas brought in a toaster with plants
already growing.
"The children prepared the containers and planted lots of
different veges.''
Tui School Garden Challenge national reps Lianne Wilson and
Mike Melling, of Auckland, visited the school earlier this
month to check out the children's handiwork in the garden,
which was used as a way to explore a variety of
sustainability themes, Ms Peters said.
"We explored sustainability using the output from the worm
farm and our pet guinea pigs and composted [materials] to
nurture the gardens along.
``We also explored water-cycle processes and created a
water-gathering container and used this water to water the
veges - then we watched them grow.''
Ms Peters said the guinea pigs were already enjoying produce
from the portable vege patch, which the kindergarten planned
to bring with it when it relocated to its new premises next
month.
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