Term 2 2026 in the Gardens at Arataki
Sweet Treats and Fresh Smoothies
Welcome back to the Arataki School garden blog! We have just wrapped up an amazing eleven-week Term 2 in our outdoor classroom. Even though the weather started to cool down, our tamariki stayed warm by keeping incredibly busy. Here is the story of our gardening adventures this term.
Celebrating International Composting Week
We kicked off our term by celebrating International Composting Awareness Week. The students turned into garden scientists and used magnifying glasses to examine our compost up close. They discovered all the tiny creatures that help break down organic matter. To help our compost piles grow even better, the children shredded paper and mixed in rich coffee grinds to give the soil a boost.
Tending to Fruit and Berries
Our fruit trees and berry patches received a lot of extra love this term. We spent time cleaning up the orchard area by pulling away weeds from around the bases of the fruit trees. Over in the berry patch, we looked closely at our strawberry plants. The students carefully separated the long strawberry runners, and everyone was thrilled to take their own little strawberry plant home to grow in their family garden.
Planting and Protecting Winter Crops
With the cold weather rolling in, it was time to tuck our winter vegetables into bed. The students worked hard to dig our green manure crops straight into the soil to feed the earth. In the empty spaces, we planted out fresh seedlings and sowed a whole bed with carrot seeds. To keep our growing broccoli and cauliflower safe from hungry pests, we carefully draped protective netting over the top of the beds.
Sensory Pathways and Late Harvests
The garden was full of wonderful sights, smells, and tastes this term. While weeding the sensory garden and clearing the pathways, the children got to stop and enjoy tasting nectar from the bright red pineapple sage flowers. We also went on one last treasure hunt in the soil, digging up the very last of our late-season kumara.
Kitchen Magic and Garden Feasts
The absolute best part of Term 2 was turning our hard work into delicious food. We harvested our very first kohlrabi, which turned out to be a massive hit with the kids. We chopped it into sticks and they polished it off in the garden in no time! We also picked fresh New Zealand spinach to blend up into bright green smoothies. To celebrate the end of our hard work, we made a giant batch of yummy hummus. The students happily devoured four whole heads of fresh broccoli, two sweet carrots, and another crunchy kohlrabi dipped straight into the hummus. It was the perfect way to taste the rewards of our winter garden.
Our Arataki Gardeners’ Green Smoothie Recipe
The kids loved our garden smoothies so much that we wanted to share our special school recipe so you can make it at home!
Pick and wash spinach: Grab a large handful of fresh New Zealand spinach straight from the garden patch.
Add fruit: Pop the green leaves into a blender with one ripe banana and a few sweet tinned peaches.
Scoop yoghurt: Spoon in some thick, creamy yoghurt to give the smoothie a great texture.
Pour milk: Add a good splash of milk and a bit of the leftover peach juice from the tin.
Blend it all together until it is thick, creamy, and a beautiful bright green.
It was a massive hit with everyone! Of course, the absolute best and most fun part of the day was seeing who could get the best bright green moustache after taking a big sip.
Counting Our Feathered Friends
At the end of June, our tamariki became citizen scientists for the day! We took part in the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey. The students grabbed their binoculars and spent the day sitting beautifully and quietly around the garden. They took a tally of all the different birds that flew in to visit our school grounds. As a citizen science project, it was super exciting for our younger gardeners, and although an element of overly enthusiastic imagination from our younger gardeners resulted in numbers that weren't accurate enough to add to the national tally, it was a great chance for our gardeners to focus on the birdlife for the morning. New Zealand Garden Bird Survey: Home
Looking Ahead to Term 3
We have some exciting news as we look forward to next term! Maeve is going to be away for the first four weeks of Term 3. However, the garden will still be in very familiar hands. Clare Rodgers, who was Arataki's very first garden facilitator, is returning to fill in for Maeve. Clare is absolutely thrilled to be back in the Arataki gardens and cannot wait to work with all our wonderful tamariki again. Have a safe and happy holiday break, everyone!
