Huge growth for course
A Taranaki horticultural course that struggled for students before the coronavirus crisis is now growing in popularity.
Before the lockdown was announced, tutor Dorothy Oakes had two students at her Land Based Training level 2 horticulture course in New Plymouth, and was on the hunt for more. Now, she has nine students enrolled and will soon start a level 3 course as well.
‘‘Three started over the lockdown and the others have come on since, now their kids are back in school,’’ she said.
‘‘I’ve had one chef who was made redundant who has applied, and an engineer who has expressed interest in coming on the course, they’re not people who would have come previously,’’ she said.
The increase comes as seed companies and seedling suppliers were also reporting huge demand.
‘‘People are starting to learn about where their food comes from,’’ she said.
The course is based at Newstart Garden in New Plymouth, a community garden on land owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, that gives away fresh organic vegetables each week to some of New Plymouth’s poorest families.
Oakes and her students have teamed up with the volunteers who run the garden in an arrangement that benefits everyone, she said.
The community garden had lost some of its volunteers and those who are left were older, she said.
‘‘It’s pretty hard going on them, so we’ve stepped up, they tell us what they want planted or weeded, and we get it done.’’
The first week back in the garden has been busy, as the weeds kept growing while the country was in lockdown, she said.
The seedlings coming on next crop were lost during the lockdown, but most of the vegetables had survived weeks untended surprisingly well, she said.
Student Matthew Ridgewell-Lang, 27, initially offered his time as a volunteer in the garden, but then signed on to the course fulltime three months ago.
‘‘It’s good to be putting in the effort up here and knowing that it’s going out into the community as well. It’s a huge motivator,’’ he said.