
<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-851" src="http://schoolnewsnz.fastrackdev.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/SND04-Wk_1-News-Vege_Garden_300x225.jpg" alt="SND04-Wk 1-News-Vege Garden 300x225" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" width="300" height="225" />Students at Monrad Intermediate School in Palmerston North have four new vegetable garden plots and two new compost bins thanks to a community grant from Horizons Regional Council.</p>
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<p>Monrad&#8217;s food tech teacher Hilary Marshall said the idea of creating a vegetable garden came about last year when she realised how much waste the school kitchen was producing.</p>
<p>&#8220;We started by getting a recycling bin for the kitchen, which made a big difference, but we had nowhere to put our food scraps. This soon led to the idea of having a compost bin and vegetable garden to spread it on,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p>With no budget to spend on this goal Ms Marshall was encouraged by an ex-teacher to find out about Horizons community grants.</p>
<p>&#8220;The $400 we received from Horizons built four vegetable plots, two compost bins and paid for the plot filling. We&#8217;re so thankful for this funding as we&#8217;ve been able to reduce costs and waste, create our own fertiliser with the compost and supplement brought produce we use in class,&#8221; Ms Marshall said.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s fantastic that we have this resource available for students to learn from. They provide the opportunity for cooking students to pick fresh vegetables, learn how to wash and de-root them, and try vegetables they haven&#8217;t before.&#8221;</p>
<p>As the vegetables aren&#8217;t ready to be eaten yet, in the meantime the plots are enabling two Year 7 students to complete a fertiliser-focused science project.</p>
<p>&#8220;James Woodcock and Walter Johnson are looking at how different types of fertiliser impact the growth of vegetables and will use this information to complete their science project next term,&#8221; Ms Marshall said.</p>
<p>Horizons environmental educator Helen Thomas said it was &#8220;fantastic&#8221; the vegetable garden plots and compost bins were being used for both sustainable and educational purposes.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is great to see Monrad School taking the initiative and exploring an aspect of reducing waste and encouraging green fingers,&#8221; Mrs Thomas said.</p>
<p>&#8220;The fact that they are able to tie in multiple focus areas, like a science project, really lends credit to this being a sustainable and educational venture that will have a big impact.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ms Marshall said she was currently maintaining the plots but hoped to establish a core group of keen gardeners to take over as the area develops.</p>

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