Fruit Trees (&veges) In Schools Launch

This morning Ryan, Ray, Ashton, Akarsha & Mrs Daniel represented Sunnyhills School at the Fruit Trees (&veges) In Schools Launch. We all got a chance to plant veges and pick the botanists brains before sharing kai. A heartfelt thank you to Kings and Howick Local Board for supporting our edible garden efforts.

Our First Kereru!

All our efforts to "Bring in the Birds" are working - one of our eagle eyed parents spotted a kereru in the the native trail! Thanks for sharing Hannah

Our kereu is still hanging this morning feeding on kowhai leaves:

Update 4.9.18

Lorelle & Lucy Stranaghan photographed the kereru again today still hanging out at Sunnyhills. Thank you!

UPDATE - 10.9.18 - our kereru as spottedby Room 5 while weeding the native trail.

YEAR TWO ENVIRO STARS - Have you brought a naked lunch today?

Let's be waste wise & responsible!

Room 21 are helping create a sustainable world by bringing 16 naked lunches to school. Tino pai rawa!!

 Room 24 celebrated their 9 naked lunches with yummy snow peas from the garden. Who will have a naked lunch next week?

Packets and wraps create litter that gets swept into the Tamaki Estuary and can hurt our sea animals - yuck! Great job cleaning up Room 22 ☺

Teach the Teacher - Mrs Daniel Goes On An Edible Garden Workshop

The learning never stops. I feel super lucky and very inspired after attending an edible garden workshop with experts at the botanic gardens today. I can't wait to add things to our wish list, enhance our practices and get cooking with Koru Whanau.

 We made kale chips, parsley pesto, bean dip, seed crackers and kawakawa tea. All from easily grown plants & veges. YUM!

 Found out how to start a new compost system with our new bins

 Great idea for a bug hotel!

 Bottles scare birds that might hurt plants.

 Adding potting table to our wish list.

 Along with a washup station.

 Super useful kawakawa. Do we have this in the native trail? Hope so as it makes great tea.

Garden shed jealousy.

A beautiful indoor potting area.

The Potter's Edible Gardens

Aroha nui to facilitators Sian, Susie, Paul and Chris - thanks for sharing your knowledge and gorgeous gardens. What a fabulous experience!

Celebrating Our Achievements - Making A Treasure Map

"We want to share all the sustainable places we've made. We love doing scavenger hunts in enviro time so we're making a treasure map for our visitors. My favourite place is the Edible Gardens because they have lots flowers for the bees." Sonia, Room 18

Edible Garden Working Bee

Drone Aerial View

Today enthusiastic whanau pitched in to help work on our Edible Gardens. Wheelbarrows, spades and rollers at the ready, young and old managed to finish muching around the beds and stain the fence black. Those with a super steady hand worked on our colourful garden signs too.

A little history:

Edible Gardens August 2016 - 12 beds

Edible Gardens August 2018 - 36 vege beds, orchard, Trees For Survival Seedling House, rain water tank, garden shed, worm farms, compost bins, irrigation, pathway, teaching area

This project began in 2015 when the senior school students began planning a replacement for our small vege patch, in the Senior Courtyard, that was due to be demolished.

Three years later with lots of research, experiments, fund raising, grants, u-turns, working bees, help from community partners and every child's involvement our Edible Gardens vision is close to completion.

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who came today - your hard work and great attitude had amazing results! The Edible Gardens are going to be a wonderful place to learn for many years to come.

We're now reflecting on our next steps...how to celebrate our achievement... skink suburbs ...bug hotels... honey bees or chickens. The action learning never stops.

Thanks to Mr Trembath for the clever drone footage:

Painting Bilingual Signs For Our Edible Gardens