Local pupils busy planting
‘‘It's the first school I've been to that has something like this.’’
Pupils at Rhode Street School have taken their love of gardening to the next level.
The Hamilton school is one of eight working alongside Kiwi charity Garden to Table, to produce a garden installation at the NZ Flower and Garden Show.
The show runs from November 29 to December 3, and in the weeks leading up to the event, Rhode Street students travelled to Auckland to help build their presentation.
Some of the crew consisted of Mercee Reihana, Lance Riki, Josh Walker, Olly Ngatai, Holden Gunn and Andreni Basil.
Holden said the day was exciting, while Andreni admitted it was ‘‘laborious’’.
They and their fellow classmates designed an installation that featured an optical illusion mural.
There is also a flower arrangement in the shape of Pacman, a scarecrow and wind chimes. Plantings include lettuce, strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, edible flowers an an apple tree.
Rhode Street School is an Enviroschool with a green-gold award. The grounds are laden with gardens growing a bounty of fresh fruit and herbs, ripe for the picking by pupils.
You can often find students such as Josh by the raspberry bushes, while the feijoas are favoured by Olly.
Established in 2008, Garden to Table teaches more than 6,000 primary-school-aged children how to grow, harvest, prepare and share food.