[Vica Cao – Head Teacher, Alfriston Road Kindergarten]
As a newly formed team, Alfriston Road Kindergarten’s Enviroschools journey began with a shared vision to make our environment a meaningful part of the children’s learning. With the gardening planters taking up a significant part of our playground, we thought: why not involve the children in restoring them? This idea quickly blossomed into a beautiful community effort. Whānau came together for a working bee, helping to empty out old soil and prepare the planter boxes for fresh beginnings.
Whānau also generously donated plants, and tamariki proudly planted vegetables, fruits, and flowers alongside them. It has been a joy to watch the children observe the growing process, and even more exciting for them to pick and taste what they’ve helped grow. So far, our garden has produced strawberries, pumpkins, kale, spinach, tomatoes, and a variety of herbs. Not only have the children enjoyed harvesting and eating the produce at kindergarten, but they’ve also taken some home to share with their families.
To extend on this mahi, we invited Hari from the Compost Collective to a special mat time, where he helped us set up our very own worm farm! The children were full of curiosity and excitement as Hari introduced us to the wriggly world of worms.
Hari showed us where worms like to live (in dark, damp places) and what they can eat (fruit and veggie scraps, but not citrus or bread). We talked about how much to feed them and how to check on them regularly to make sure they’re happy and healthy. Hari also showed us something special—worm tea! We learnt that the liquid collected from the worm farm can be used to feed our vegetable garden. The children were amazed to learn that these tiny creatures could help grow our food by turning scraps into healthy soil and natural fertiliser.
This experience was an exciting step in our kindergarten’s journey as an Enviroschool. We are committed to teaching children about sustainability and looking after Papatūānuku (Mother Earth). We are so proud of our learners for embracing this experience with such enthusiasm. Our worm farm will now be part of our daily rhythm, and we look forward to seeing how ngā tamariki grow as kaitiaki (guardians) of the earth.
