Students try their hand at growing kūmara
Bohally Intermediate School students have planted a kūmara garden which they hope will feed their classmates and teachers at their annual hāngī.
The initiative was one of many undertaken by students as part of the Council’s Kids’ Edible Gardens programme, led by Tracy Holdaway, programme Facilitator for Bohally.
Toward the end of last year, Tracy and the students joined forces with Reuben Molnar from Te Whatu Ora, who had previously worked with Marlborough Boys’ College students growing kūmara with great success, harvesting 90 kilograms from their plot.
Kids’ Edible Gardens Programme Coordinator Angela Wentworth said the Bohally students were interested to hear how the students had used Māori Mātauranga throughout the process.
With guidance from Reuben, the kids planted their tipu, or sprouts, when the maramataka, or lunar calendar, indicated it was a good time for growth.
They planted the tipu in a ‘J’ shape, running shoots gently upward to sit above the soil. Once planting was complete, the students sung waiata to the tipu, encouraging them to grow strong.
Last month, Angela and 15 Kids’ Edible Gardens Facilitators visited students at the school, where they talked them through the process and how it turned out.
The facilitators were keen to learn about what the students had done, with the aim of replicating the process in their own school gardens.
“While the summer has not produced the amount of growth they had hoped for, now they are back at school, watering will be stepped up,” Angela said.
“The students are hoping all the effort and care they put into the kūmara crop will pay off with an abundant harvest for their hāngī.”
For more information go to www.marlborough.govt.nz/environment/environmental-education/school-education-programmes/kids-edible-gardens