Otatara School go wild!
On 21 March 2016, sixty “Year 5” students came to help out at the Community Nursery in Otatara. There were three activities – planting native plants, potting seedlings and collecting native seeds. All are jobs needing to be done at this time of year. Each group did all of the activities led by Chris, Bronwyn and Lesley with teachers Jena and Gillian and some willing parents lending a hand.
For planting, groups went “across the boundary” into Bushy Point to plant the edges of a ditch with 100 kohuhu, cabbage trees, Manuka, lemonwood and other hardy native species. These plants add to the 24,000 plants that have been planted in the Bushy Point project over the last 15 years.
The potting group helped to prick out manuka and kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium) seedlings from seed that the Otatara Year 4 classes had sown at last year’s visit to the nursery. It was a hive of activity in the Education Centre and a total of over 500 seedlings were potted up by the three groups.
Then, on to seed collecting where a whole array of native seeds were “discovered” hiding amongst the various shrubs from mingimingi (Coprosma propinqua) berries (yellow, white and blue), black flax seeds from pods, white cabbage tree seeds, Manuka pods (not quite ready to open) and sticky black kohuhu seeds.
It was a great day and the children seemed to have fun outside and thoroughly enjoyed doing the “work” - “We had a ball, the kids were highly engaged, made lots of connections to their learning last year and really enjoyed the hands on experiences” - Gillian Donnelly Year 5 Teacher, Otatara School.
Chris
Posted: 24 March 2016