Helping our kindergartens to flourish.

The old nursery rhyme used to ask “How does your garden grow?” Well, when our gardens flourish at our kindergartens, it’s usually because of a lot of hard work by the kaiako, tamariki, and community.

Having gardens in our kindergartens provides so many great learning experiences for our tamariki.

From planting the seed, to looking after the plants and studying the wildlife that shows up, to harvesting the produce – it’s a great showcase for the change of seasons, and how things grow.

Planting the seeds of learning…

A great example is the garden beds at Kidsfirst Hāwea.

The tamariki were very excited to see the raised gardens delivered. These were kindly donated by the Rotary Club of Wanaka and built and installed by the Wanaka Community Workshop. Top soil was donated by the Hāwea Flat School.

The kindergarten chose to use these to plant flowers and vegetables with the aim of helping tamariki to learn about growing food, sustainability, and healthy eating. The children have also learnt how to nurture the plants and are fascinated in watching them grow and eventually produce flowers, or fresh produce to harvest.

Everything goes full circle as the produce is all donated to families and the community.

Where would we be without the support of the community?

We are so grateful for all the support our kindergartens get.

When New World had a surplus of their ‘Little Garden’ seed pots, Kidsfirst Hāwea put them to good use, with stunning results.

It’s incredible the generosity given by people, with their time and goods.

A big thank you to everyone who made this project, and so many others around our kindergartens turn into reality, and provide such wonderful experiences for the tamariki.