Community spirit blooms thanks to garden scheme

Owairaka school principal Brenda Williams was ‘‘blown away by the generosity of the community’’ after recieving a cheque for $2155.37 on April 28.

The donation was raised as part of the Mount Roskill Warehouse Bags for Good campaign which saw locals vote for the organisation they felt was most deserving.

‘‘We’re so thankful to the community and the support they have shown us, it’s really positive,’’ she says.

The donation is expected to go towards upgrading the IT suite and provide funding for the school’s Garden to Table programme.

‘‘It’s a programme that we’re very passionate about,’’ Williams says.

Garden to Table involves teaching children important life skills from growing their own vegetables to preparing meals.

Owairaka School

has

several different vegetable gardens throughout its grounds and a pizza oven to cook the fresh produce.

‘‘We see it as meeting the needs of our kids and the community. We have a very diverse school and through growing their own food the kids have learnt not only important skills but about different cultures in the school.’’

Garden to Table is not funded by the government and Owairaka is the only school in Auckland that supports the programme.

‘‘It just offers so much to the kids. They go home and talk about growing things with their parents. It opens up a whole different world for them.’’

Mount Roskill Warehouse community liason Donna Fifield says the amount awarded to Owairaka School came as a surprise.

‘‘Donations are normally around $300 – $500 but its great to see so much going towards a very worthy cause.’’