Beloved teacher leaves lasting mark with plants

It was a bittersweet day for Long Bay Primary pupils on Friday July 27, farewelling their long-serving and much-admired deputy principal and concluding their term-long programme on ‘caring for the environment’ with a special planting day.

As part of the Schools Planting Programme, funded by North Shore City Council, 120 Long Bay students planted 435 native plants for their new ‘outdoor classroom’, with the help of teachers, parents and grandparents.

Long Bay Primary was one of five schools selected to take part in the Schools Planting Programme this year, alongside Verran Primary, Northcote College, Corelli and Kristin schools.

This year’s programme provided native plants, advice and planting plans to these five schools with streams on or alongside their school grounds. Some of the streams involved are of high ecological value, says Jo Harrison, North Shore City’s environmental programmes co-ordinator.

“The programme assists schools to carry out riparian restorative planting to stabilise stream banks and improve stream habitats and water quality.

“It can also help schools to create outdoor learning areas or attracting native birds to their school grounds,” she says

Long Bay students worked toward creating their ‘outdoor classroom’ during term two, with classroom activities and field visits to both the Awaruku walkway and the Okura bushwalk.

Some students also enjoyed a visit from Ross Garrett, a local resident who monitors the health of the nearby Awaruku stream through the Wai Care programme.

With the help of a landscape architect, provided through the council programme, the students planned their own planting design to follow the path of the Vaughan Stream which flows under the school grounds.

Their planting links two areas of bush upstream and downstream from the school, creating a natural corridor to attract native birds and other wildlife.

The children were excited about the future of this special addition to their school grounds.

“It is fun to make a new environment,” said one student.

“We’re hoping to provide food for birds and places for them to live. Something that will stay here forever,” added a classmate.

The highlight of the event was helping deputy principal John Marwick leave his legacy at the school, a native kauri, which was planted right in the heart of the new ‘classroom’.

Students said the disappointment of seeing Mr Marwick leave was at least in part eased by the excitement and pleasure they will get from nurturing the new plants and watching them grow.

ENDS

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