There has been a nice boost of growth in the school gardens in the last few weeks. So it has been taste test time. Lettuce and herb rolls, green juices and smoothies.
Pembroke school were the first to get wizzing with my new Nutribullet. The students went foraging in their school gardens and each brought a handful of edibles to the kitchen for blending.
Pineapple and coconut water made nice mixers for the green smoothies.
They enjoyed them
St Joseph's School were next to have a got and making a delicious combination. There were a few marigold petals in the mix and some cacao beans to give a chocolatey hint. Educational talks included where chocolate comes from and students got to try raw cacao beans. Also nutritional benefits of drinking raw smoothies with all their available fibre.
Students really enjoyed the aspect of eating what they had grown. Some students had never tried some of the vegetables before. We spoke about healthy food choices.
In probably the most exciting news is the welcome addition to the Kid's Growing Project, Oamaru North School. We had a keen bunch of gardening student on Wednesday to get the new garden established. The cement boxes are a temporary measure as their school is about to undergo a lot of construction and there will eventually be a bigger school garden. But it was great to make a start with the students.
Weeding the old beds out
Seedlings grown at the Waitaki Community Garden's by our green thumbed gardening grandparent Gordan, were gratefully received and planted out. Cabbage, broccoli, lettuce and a teacher donated some lovely sunflower seedlings. It looks great. Well done and welcome aboard the Kids Growing community Oamaru North School.
Duntroon School decided that they would like some living garden art, so got creating with some knowledgeable parent help and made a willow harlequin tree. Made from willow and well watered in the idea is that it will keep growing and can be trimmed and will eventually hold its shape.
Students enjoyed the almost dance that it took to put it in place, lattice working their way from the bottom to the top. Observation and geometric skills came in handy and fine motor skills to tie the crossed willow to hold the cuttings in place.
What a beautiful achievement Duntroon School. Well done. I encourage other schools to think about this sort of garden art. Also come up to the Waitaki Community Garden's in Chelmer Street to get some inspiration for willow fencing and willow basket edging around plots. It is a fine feature in any garden,
Fenwick School had a good turn out this week with two weeding teams and a potato planting team.
One group of weeders discovered an apricot tree that had been hidden for a few weeks.
Preparing the potato bed
Successful weeding
Planting out a courgette
A lovely thing we have started at Fenwick School is mindfulness in the garden, a five minute sit-down around the herb tyres and a chance to settle and be still, observing different sounds and happening around the garden and beyond. Last week it also involved a taste test for students to sit quietly and experience the taste of 3 different herbs. Students report that they feel 'refreshed', 'calm' and 'peaceful' after mindfulness in the garden. It is also a nice calm transition into groups and making a start on the gardening jobs at hand. Next year we plan to have it in all Garden Clubs as a nice way to make a start in our busy world. There is good evidence to suggest mindfulness can have numerous benefits to the psycho-social and educational development of children. Count me in I think we all need some!
Kurow School have had a growth spurt in their salad bar garden. So lettuce and herb wraps were a nice treat at the end of garden club.
