Announcing the winners of the T&G Young Gardeners’ Awards 2018

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From the rolling hills of Wainui to the fertile soils of north Canterbury and the crisper climate of Invercargill, we've unearthed NZ's best school gardens, and young gardeners!

More than 130 entries were received from 45 primary schools in the eagerly contested 2018 awards, nearly doubling the number of entries received in last year’s competition. 

Our huge thanks to our National Growing Partner, T&G Global, for their continued support of Garden to Table, and the Young Gardener Awards.  

For full details of the winning schools and students, visit www.younggardenerawards.co.nz.

We're delighted to announce the following winners:

 T&G Passion for Growing Award - Milford School, Milford, North Shore: This school developed a garden specifically to attract and protect native butterflies and moths. Milford School started its thriving gardening club in 2009 thanks to the help of a parent, and since then the school garden has gone from strength to strength. Butterflies have a starring role in the school’s gardening activity. The kids grow flowers they know they’ll love and tag them to do their bit for the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust, something which actively involves the school in science learning. They have learnt practical gardening and problem solving skills, for example, the kids had to figure out how to get water to the butterfly garden which was a long way from the water supply. The students learnt about the importance of water, the concept of rainwater collection through the installation of a rain water tank.

T&G Garden to Table Established School of the Year - North Loburn School in north Canterbury: (pictured) What started as a small garden project for this rural school has grown into a fully flourished garden with nine large raised vegetable, three herb beds, a tunnel house and scarecrows.The school pins much of the programme’s success to the fact that the Garden to Table activities are tweaked to fit in with the school’s rural style, as well as being largely student lead. Older students lead younger ones in group projects such as building scarecrows and vegetable signs. Last term a class planted broad beans after reading Jack and the Beanstalk in a bid to link the gardening efforts with what’s happening in the class.

T&G Garden to Table Emerging School of the Year - Wainui School, Wainui, north of Auckland: This school encourages all of their students to become kaitiaki (guardians) of our environment and has seen students who struggle in the classroom, blossom in the gardenTheir learning goes beyond growing and nutrition and includes writing, maths, science and even enterprise.The students have begun creating other sustainable products such as lip balm and ginger beer to sell. 

Five very deserving and passionate Young Gardener Awards have also been unearthed 

1.Hannah Kome, age 9, from Cannons Creek School, Porirua

2.Jing Mei, age 10, from Forrest Hill School, North Shore, Auckland 

3.Josh Angelo, age 11, from Holy Cross School, Miramar, Wellington 

4.Jackson Evans, age 10, from Macandrew Bay School, Dunedin

5.Finn Meijer, age 11, from Waihopai School, Invercargill 

The winning schools will receive some great prizes that will no doubt help to keep them on track with their gardening ventures, including fruit trees from T&G, irrigation systems from GARDENA, Hungry Bin worm farms and goodies from Tui as well as design help from Garden to Table ambassador Dan Mackay for the Emerging and Passion for Growing schools.

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