Students meet with the Chairperson of The Local Howick Board

Today Gabrielle and Hollie met with David Collings the Chair of the Local Howick Board to discuss the council not using pesticide when spraying as it kills bees. The students explained that bees are one of the very few things that we humans need to live. Without bees there would be no pollination and that would lead to no fruit or vegetables. Herbivores would have less food to eat and some would die out. Then the carnivores too would be affected. The good news is that the council only use herbicides as they too are very concerned that the bee population is in decline. Mr Collings also signed the student's petition to ban the sale of pesticides as there are alternative products available.

Gabrielle and Hollie presenting their Inquiry about bees and the reasons for 
                                      their decline in numbers

Mr Collings signing the student's petition

Our edible garden's growing! Progress photos of the winter crops ...

 Can you name these veges?

Anemones for the bees 🐝❤

Who are our NZ animal celebrities and villains?

To launch our Term 3 enviro inquiry about protecting our endemic species from invasive pests, the middle and senior school took part in an animal scavenger hunt, through the native bush walk. Do you know the difference between native & endemic?

"I found it really fun to search through the gardens. We looked in places we wouldn't normally go and thought outside the box" Samantha

"It's so fun to go in nature".
Finn

"I wish we could do this for every lesson. I didn't know that honeybees were introduced"
Cynthia

Greenfingers Gang - capsicum harvest - thanks Mother Earth

 The capsicum plants Mother Earth donated in spring are still going strong for our Matariki middle of winter harvest. Wow! Just as well too, because our kumaras need more time.

Morgan is also tending to seedlings we've grown from the capsicum seeds, so there'll be many more to come.

Our Pet Pest

While we were conducting the Landcare bird survey today with Mrs Daniel, Room 7 saw Louie, the much loved school cat, catch a silver eye. Luckily the little native bird got away, but two others were not so lucky.

Louie has been waiting for silver eyes to go under the neighbour's fruit tree net then easily catching them. Clever hunting but not great for our native birds.

Killing natives?! Does this make Louie and other cats a pest? We will be investgate more about  what it means to be pests, native, endemic, or intoduced, next term.

What do you think? Is Louie a pest? Comment below.