Students learn about plant reproduction, biodiversity, habitats and insects

Students from Grace Academy have collected and moved 250 kilos of manure from local stables to help create quality top soil for the Academy’s Eco Garden.

Year 9 students Reiko Brown, Ellison Drinkwater, Reece Young and Jack Knight joined forces to rake and bag the manure, created by the stable’s friendly horses Francis and Rebel.

Speaking about the experience, Reiko Brown said:

“I’d definitely go again because it’s helping the Academy to grow crops and give us healthy soil. It was great to meet the horses; Rebel was the funny one and Francis the moody one who likes to drink coke.

“Picking up the horse manure was an experience; the fresh manure smelled really bad but the older manure didn’t smell so much.  We picked it up with a spade and rake, chopped it up and put it in bags.

“The biggest thing I learned was how horse manure makes crops grow faster and we were learning science on the farm, as well as in the classroom.”

Student Jack Knight added:

“I like doing things outdoors and, even though we were out of school, we were still learning.  I already do gardening for Groworganic and spent some time looking for tiger worms in the manure.”

Grace Academy’s Eco site was created last year with quality top soil to help the Academy grow its crops.  However, the compost bin is expected to take another couple of years to be ready for service so the Academy needed the horse manure to add extra nutrients to the soil.

Management of the Eco Garden is coordinated by Jeremy Bullard from Grace Academy who commented:

“Two of our students have already dug the manure into the garden which is great.  The Eco site is really good for the school because it helps students with their learning, especially for horticulture and science, and it provides an alternative space outside for students and staff.

“The primary reason we have the Eco garden is to help with the science curriculum so the students can understand what they are eating ‘fork to plate’; the idea is that we will plant things in the garden and hopefully get to eat them.

“Students are able to cultivate their own crops, learning about plant reproduction growth, as well as biodiversity, habitats and insects.

“As we develop the eco site, student input is vital. These inputs allow us to recycle and repurpose materials into new and novel applications. One such material is manure. Manure is a vital and natural source of plant nutrition. By using an otherwise unwanted and wasted product we can reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers we require, thereby helping the consumer and easing the financial strain of purchasing chemicals.

“When plants are mature students are then able to cultivate and market their products to other students and staff. These funds are then injected back into the eco site allowing for further and future development.”