School keen to nurture nature makeover
With the help of many local ‘‘working bees’’, Nelson Central School now has a new sensory garden full of native trees to entice birds and insects to the grounds.
The garden enhancement was part of the 10th anniversary of the Treemendous School Makeover initiative and the school was chosen from 100 entries.
Nelson Central School was one of five lucky recipients of the initiative after submitting a landscape design plan as well as an organisational and budget break down for the project.
The initiative was launched in 2007 by Project Crimson Trust and the Mazda Foundation and aims to teach children about the importance of caring for the environment through the development of outdoor classrooms.
The $10,000 garden makeover includes an amphitheatre for the teachers to use as an outdoor classroom, a relaxation zone with hammocks and a sight area made up of weta houses, bird houses and ladybird and insect hotels.
The new garden is a welcome addition to Nelson Central School, who has been working towards reducing their waste for over a year.
Nelson Central School enviro lead teacher Lynley Walter said the students had been involved in bringing the idea to life.
She said she had put everything she had into the project and was excited that all the hard work had paid off.
‘‘The new sensory garden brings with it so many new possibilities. The garden will be used by not only the school community but also the whole local community.
‘‘We hope it will bring more native birds into the school and help connect the biodiversity corridors to the city.’’
She said the school would use the area as an outdoor classroom.
‘‘Being able to teach about nature in nature is going to be a great asset.
‘‘It will also create new habitats for lizards and wetas, and support the already existing ecosystems within the school.’’
‘‘Bugman’’ Ruud Kleinpaste and ‘‘Shark Man’’ Riley Elliott gave workshops at the school on Friday, teaching children of all ages about the role of insects and sea life on our planet.
Kleinpaste said he was on a mission to educate New Zealanders about nature and was ‘‘rolling out’’ Treemendous makeovers around the country.
‘‘I’m trying to create nature literate New Zealanders, kids that understand that we depend on everything nature does.
‘‘Because at the moment we have raised a whole generation in complete absence of nature, which is a sad thing.’’