For quite a while, the teachers at Wakari Kindergarten thought they had a problem with bugs eating the leaves off the vegetables in their garden.
It turns out it was the children who were eating the leaves, and glass container manufacturer O-I New Zealand hopes that will continue after allocating a $1096 study grant to help the kindergarten establish a new, larger garden, which includes a variety of fruit trees and vegetables, along with native shrubs to encourage native birds to return to the area.
Teacher Kate Couling said the project would create many learning opportunities around biodiversity, ecology, ecosystems, understanding the relationship between living things and their environments, and working together as a team.
''The children have learnt that vegetables don't come from the supermarket, and parents don't have as much trouble getting their children to eat their vegetables now.
''They eat out of the garden. We've taught them what they can and can't eat.
''We thought we had a white butterfly problem with all the holes in the leaves.''
Miss Couling said the garden produce would be distributed to all kindergarten children and their families, which would encourage healthy eating and give children the opportunity to try new foods.
O-I New Zealand allocated $25,000 to schools around the country this year, to support projects that develop skills in identifying, investigating and finding solutions to environmental issues.
O-I New Zealand sustainability manager Penny Garland said since 1983, the fund had provided almost $645,000 in study grants to more than 400 schools.
