Source: Environment Canterbury Regional Council
The aim is for tamariki (children) to be able to grow vegetables and plants all year round and make food in classes, demonstrating ‘garden to plate’ learning. The native plants grown will be used for the school’s riparian planting projects.
The school would like to eventually provide produce to food banks, and to families within the school community who need support.
This is one of several projects supported by the latest round of Selwyn Waihora ZCAP funding.
Just under $1,300 will go towards equipment such as an irrigation pipe and attachments, the hiring of a trenching machine (to bury the pipes) and a garden shed to act as a pump house.
Principal Elizabeth Coyle says the school was set up with a vision to develop an environmental awareness amongst ākonga (students).
“We’ve achieved great things already and wish to keep the momentum going to help tamariki reach their full potential in this space.
“This project will certainly help with that, and we’re grateful to the Selwyn Waihora Water Zone Committee for backing this important mahi.”
Vegetables and plants growing inside the tunnel house
Water zone committee Action Plan funding
Each water zone committee was allocated $50,000 this financial year. The committees make funding recommendations on projects in their zone that benefit the environment or engage the community on environmental issues.
This support in turn helps the committees meet the goals in their Action Plans – which outline their tactics for delivering on the targets of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy.
Selwyn Waihora Water Zone Committee’s Action Plan priorities are:
- enhancing mahinga kai, biodiversity and recreation opportunities
- raising awareness about the risks to private drinking water supplies
- supporting actions to restore Te Waihora to a healthy state
- facilitating actions to achieve catchment nutrient targets and water quality outcomes
- facilitating a community-wide approach to restore the Waikirikiri/Selwyn River back to a healthy state.
Action Plan projects in Selwyn Waihora
Rolleston Christian School’s project is one of six funded this year by the Selwyn Waihora Water Zone Committee’s Action Plan.
The other projects are:
Scamander Swamp Wetland Restoration
This project aims to ‘crack the whip’ on crack willow, which is increasingly encroaching on the wetland. Reducing the prevalence of this weed will help protect the function of the wetland ecosystem, habitat for native biodiversity and aesthetic values.
$16,500 in ZCAP funding will go toward covering the initial control works, along with some of the ongoing costs.
Halswell/Huritini Wetland Restoration
Raupō largely dominates this wetland, but crack and grey willow, as well as some other woody pest species, are increasingly invading the site.
Scamander wetland, on the edge of Lake Coleridge, is known for its scenery, recreation and cultural importance.
$10,000 in ZCAP funding will go towards controlling the willow and the other pest species before they become overly problematic.
Old Tai Tapu bush deer fence
Old Tai Tapu bush is a 6.5 hectare indigenous lowland forest, which is being devastated by fallow deer.
QEII National Trust is looking to fence 11,015 metres of bush to keep deer out, eliminate deer that are already in the bush, and undertake monitoring. The project will benefit from $12,762 in ZCAP funding.
Lincoln students discovery plant-out and monitoring days
This project is part of a greater effort to restore vegetation along the Huritini/Halswell Awa (river) in Ahuriri Reserve and other awa in Selwyn Waihora.
A plant-out day for Te Kura o Tauhinu/Lincoln Primary students will be held, centred on a variety of activities to help the students learn about the positive effects of native species on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They’ll also look at the cultural uses of plants and certain species.
A hands-on monitoring event for a school to check plant survival and measure biosecurity at a restoration site will also be organised. This will include a native bird count, a terrestrial invertebrate hunt, and aquatic and fish invertebrate investigations.
$6,941 in funding will go towards the cost of running the two events.
The Fantail Trust native bird and plant sanctuary
This project will see the creation of a native bird and plant sanctuary in the Rakaia Gorge along the walkway.
$2,500 in ZCAP funding will go towards the deployment of five AT220 traps in remote sites to help eliminate possums and rats. This is in addition to other traps already installed in the forest. The aim is to significantly improve the survival of native birds and invertebrates and enable the forest to regenerate and rejuvenate.
Committee delighted by high quality proposals
Selwyn Waihora Zone Committee deputy chair Allanah Kidd says the projects will help improve freshwater and/or biodiversity outcomes.
“This was a highly competitive round which made allocations recommendations difficult” she said.
“As a committee we were delighted to see so many high-quality and worthy proposals put forward, and to be able to support a range of inspiring projects.”