Hints of spring

There have been some nice hints of Spring this week, with beautiful warm days for the children to garden in.

                                          Fenwick School prepare the soil for spring

Young Archie tills the soil

                                                                      Layla and Archie strikes a pose

Weeding round the peas that are growing well

Digging in ans preparing the soil.  This will be one well dug over bed ready for planting.

Waitaki Valley School continue their late harvest garlic and shallot sowing

This week we learnt about 'seed saving' and had some lovely New Zealand Heritage tomatoes and chillis to cut up.

Finding the seeds

                                       Spacing them out on a handy towel for drying.

Max did a great job watering and other students used recycled spray bottles to water

Students learnt how to make newspaper pockets

Filling the newspaper pockets with New Zealand Heritage tomato seeds that they just harvested

St Joseph's School have been enjoying their new watering system, which will make for a great growing season

St Joseph's continue to inspire with their harvesting for school events and social services through St Vincent de Paul.  Here they harvested bags of lettuce and kale

Student's learn how to make newspaper pockets

                                                                               Success!

 Filling the pockets with Tui vege mix and with some tomato seeds from the Waitaki Community Gardens

 Pocekts filled with Tui mix and seeds and ready to go back to various classrooms to start them growing on sunny windowsills.

Pembroke School have been busy making more tins for our fundraiser!!!

Our exciting news is our upcoming fundraiser.  An evening with two inspirational speakers.  Friday 4th September at St Kevin's auditorium 7pm

Simple Truths for Complex Lives (Chris Skellett)  and 

                                     Peaceful Mind, Compassionate Heart (Annwyn Hanham)

Tickets are only $20 and all proceeds support the Kids Growing School Gardens Initiative. Enjoy two informative & inspirational talks, and support a good cause too!

To buy tickets, go to Health 2000, Oamaru Farmers' Market, Found, Kurow Museum and Info Centre or contact Anisha at Anisha.Lee@gmail.com or 

Here is a facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/events/875513999206961/875514009206960/

It's so frosty but the gardens still grow

It has been soooo cold recently but yes the School gardens still grow.  Students have been busy at Fenwick School, digging, planting and weeding the emerging garlic this week.

Weeding the garlic

Celebrating the Tui products gifted to their school. Thanks Tui

 Hanging the bird feeder

 Digging in the autumn leaves

Pembroke School students have been helping make 'thank you tin' that we will use for the upcoming School Garden's Fundraiser.

students potted up some brassica seeds to take back to their classrooms

Waitaki Valley School are planting some more garlic to harvest when school returns after the summer holidays.  They got to use some of their Tui mix so generously given by Tui to our North Otago Schools.  Thanks Tui.  Students used the mix when planting their black currant plant gifted by the Waitaki Community Gardens.

Planting the garlic





Preparing the soil for some brassica seedlings raised in the glasshouse at the community Garden's

































Planting some broccoli seeds and I'll take it to the glasshouse at the Community Gardens for some warm time

Thanks Tui

St Joseph's School have been busy planting seedlings we raised in the Waitaki Community Garden's glasshouse.  They also planted pea seeds and will to continuous planting of them over the next few weeks to see which ones do best.
Suzi, St Joseph's School Garden Co-ordinator shows the student's how to prepare the soil for sewing the pea seeds

 Planting the peas

Planting the seedlings

Our exciting news is that there is an upcoming Fundraiser for School Gardens in the Waitaki District.  It is an eving with two guest Speakers.  It is on Friday 4th September at St Kevins School Auditorium tickets are $20 and goes towards funding my role as School Garden's Co-ordinator.

Tickets are available at Health 2000, Kurow Museum and Information enter

Some nice things happening at Waitaki Valley School

Waitaki Valley School Garden Club students have been busy in recent weeks with bird feeders, seed tape and sign making.

 Some nice sign's being painted with the help of Ella McKelvey

 Sure to scare some birds away

New Garlic sign post

 But of special note is the project that Room 4 student Kelvin is doing.  He has been working towards Project Gold and has raised these Kowhai seeds as part of the DOC local regeneration project in the Waitaki Valley.  Well done Kelvin your Kowhai seedlings look so healthy and they will be a great addition to your local native regeneration project. :)

Also some garlic planting has been happening

Making the rows and planting the bulbs

Great team work

The idea behind some later garlic planting is that the garlic will be ready to harvest next year when the students return to school from the summer holidays

Students have recently started working on a Bee Calander.  Learning about bees and getting to know their seasonal needs and activites

 Agatha draws her bee and tells us that some parents buy honey and give it to children when they are unwell

Great start to the Bee Calander, we started with early spring activites

 Resources and felts.  We learnt Bee's have 4 wings, 6 legs like many other insects