Merry Christmas

The Gore Main School Envirogroup would like to wish all of our supporters a very 'Merry Christmas!'  We look forward to a prosperous and rewarding 2015!

Enviro-schools Hui 2014

This year the Enviro-schools Hui was held in Te Anau.  Gore Main School were lucky enough to get 8 children to the Hui.  We managed to get there safely after some bus sickness and a rock hitting the window screen!  The day began at the Te Anau Wildlife Park. We were welcomed and then we had a chance to roam around looking and learning about the wildlife at the park.  We got a yummy muffin for morning tea!

After walking around the Te Anau Wildlife Park we drove over to the Kepler Track.  We learnt how to use a tracking device to track endangered birds!  It was fun.  We managed to track a soft toy with a tag on it!

We learnt all about the "Kids restoring Kepler' programme and got to see different types of trapping and monitoring.  The children involved in the programme monitor animals by using food tunnels with ink and card strips inside them.  The children can then see what sort of creatures are around, whether they are friends or foes by looking at tracks or prints left behind.  They then decide if they will set traps or leave the area alone.  'Snap' traps are a tool that the 'Kids restoring Kepler' use to kill pests.  This is humane as it kills pests instantly.  We got to see a live stoat.  It was very growly and had very sharp teeth.

Dead stuffed stoat

Live stoat

Ink and card monitoring

Another part of the day we enjoyed was when we had the opportunity to just relax in the beautiful bush around Lake Te Anau.  We sat and listened to the birdsong and felt calm and relaxed.  We looked at a tree that was around 500 years old!

As part of the Hui, we had to take something that we had created back at our school to 'trade' with another school.  Gore Main School took a 'gardening' package with some plants, some worm juice and a piece of our corrugated iron garden art.  We had to talk about what we had made.  We all did really well standing up in front of different schools and explaining the things that we had done.  We managed to trade our things for other great things.  We got some recycled paper, some plants and some material owls.

Presenting our 'garden' package at the Hui.  Who wants to trade with us?

We would like to thank Environment Southland for organising this wonderful day.  They looked after us very well.  We received wonderful gifts (tunnels, ink card monitoring, stuffed toys, food and knowledge).  The DOC staff were knowledgeable and we learnt a lot about the 'Kids restoring Kepler' programme.  We absolutely loved the environment (being right in the bush) and the friendly people that share with us a love of nature and of sustainability.  Thank you!!  The Hui rocks!!

Tranquillity Garden

The goal of the Gore Main School Enviro-group during 2014 has been to begin a ‘Tranquillity garden’.  A school survey showed that children would enjoy a space at playtime where they can read, reflect or relax with friends.  We chose an area beside our orchard to begin the space.  It requires a lot of planning and work, like fencing.  We visited St Patrick’s in Invercargill to get ideas from their ‘Prayer garden’.  We have begun smaller initiatives within the school that will eventually be incorporated into our ‘Tranquillity garden’.  We have not yet completed this space but look forward to seeing how it develops in the future.

Garden Art that has been designed to go into the Tranquillity garden

Tyres - Garden planters for the Tranquillity garden

       

Weather station and weather vane

The Gore Main School Envirogroup recently purchased an amazing 'weather station' and a copper 'weather vane!'  They did this with the support of the Fonterra Grass Roots fund, who provided funds for us to be able to buy these things!  Thank you Fonterra!  The purpose of this weather equipment is to be able to clearly monitor the weather at school.  The weather station has a rain gauge, a wind meter & direction, inside/outside temperature and humidity.  You can download previous day's weather to try and predict future weather or look for patterns.  The copper weather vane has been erected to true 'north' and when is becomes less stiff, will begin swinging to give an accurate wind direction.  We look forward to becoming better at reading the weather soon.

Visit to St Patrick's School in Invercargill

On Wednesday the 25th of June Mrs M took 12 Envirogroup kids to visit St Partick's School in Invercargill.  The reason for the trip was to have a look at St Patrick School's prayer garden.  This is a special garden that has been made by the St Patrick's kids.  It is a space for children to go to to relax and think.  The children at St Patrick's designed the garden and had control over what the garden's features were to be.  The Gore Main School Envirogroup came away from the visit with lots of new ideas for their 'Tranquility' garden that they want to create at school.  The day was funded by Environment Southland.  They paid for the bus, the food and Mrs M's salary for the day.  Thank you Environment Southland.  Amy and Pat, representatives from Environment Southland attended the day as well.  We really had a great day and think that school interchanges are extremely worthwhile for Enviroschools.  Some of the ideas we got from the trip for our own future 'Tranquility' garden are...
:
  =The Envirogroup wants to propagate their own plants for their garden.  Why buy when you can grow plants from other ones?

=Lots of fragrant plants in the Tranquility garden.  The St Pat's garden had fragrant lavender and the plants smelt wonderful.

=The children though that colour would be great in the garden.

=Native plants for the birds to come to.

The media was in attendance on this day and we made the paper!!

Here are photos from the day!

St Pat's Prayer Garden entrance - nice bright signs

Fragrant Lavender - They smelt lovely!

The children in the Prayer garden getting to know each other

Relaxing in the Prayer garden

The Prayer garden at St Pat's had lots of lovely decorations 

Koru and kids

Beautiful, a corner of the Prayer garden.  What a relaxing space

All the St Pat's and Gore Main kids

Pat from Environment Southland and the kids mixing from both schools

Tranquility garden

Our big project for 2014 at Gore Main School is to design a 'Tranquility garden'.  Our vision is to have a space in the school that children can go and hang out in.  We would like it to be peaceful and colourful.  We want children to be surrounded by nature....

Watch this space..

Here is the area that we want to turn into a 'Tranquility garden'

Preparing the garden for winter

Our vege garden has been planted out in 'winter vegetables'.  We have harsh winters here in Gore so we need to protect our little plants with pea straw.  We also cut up old plastic milk bottles to make them into little tunnel houses!  These things will protect our vegetables and ensure that we get some good vegetables!

Here is the pea straw going on the garden for winter...