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By Anonymous

More progress in the Horticulture Block with construction started on our new SHADE HOUSE. This is a big step forward!

For the last few years we have been out in the garden exposed to all of the elements. and to be honest it has been a bit hard to keep everything organized with no central, sheltered hub for our activity. This shade house will not only give us more space to work, with work benches and storage. But it will also let us start growing hundreds if not thousands of native trees. 

I recently read that emissions from a medium sized car, 20,000 km per year will be offset by 18 native trees and shrubs by the time they reach 50! So as you can see there is much work to be done.

I am really excited about all of the new and exciting opportunities that this build will offer our students and community. I also want to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to Chris Serfontein and his year 12 & 13 Wood Work students who are in charge of this build. It is great to see departments working together and giving our students real life, hands on experience working towards a sustainable future.

I will keep everyone updated as we the build continues to take shape. Looking at these photos I think the shed could also do with a lick of paint too!

Ka pai!


 

Comments

  1. Phil @ Ako Hiko23 March 2021 at 07:39

    Kia ora Richard. My name is Phil and I'm a facilitator in the Ako Hiko cluster in Auckland. We actually visited your school last year in term 4. I now wish I'd come and had a look at the awesome mahi you're doing as I'm very passionate about sustainability. It's so exciting that you'll be able to grow so many natives. Will they be planted locally?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous23 March 2021 at 13:01

      Kia ora Phil, Thank you for your comment, yes we have come a long way at school in terms of sustainability.
      The native trees that will be growing in the shadehouse will be planted locally, at school and in the community. All the seeds will be locally sourced as well. We were granted some funding from the Northland Regional Council for this project which is awesome. Next time you are up this way stop in for a chat, it has been a long and winding road so far and there is still much to learn but I know that everyday we are making a difference, no matter how small.

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