Casebrook wins Silver Award at garden show.

By Paul Cook | Posted: Tuesday March 15, 2016

The School Gardens Show is an exhibition sponsored by Oderings Garden Centres in partnership with the Canterbury Horticultural Society and was held at the Woolston Club on Hargood St. Casebrook Intermediate was one of 12 schools asked to exhibit over the weekend of Friday March 11th – Sunday March 13th.

Casebrook Intermediate’s effort was focused by using three teams of talented and determined children.

One group researched what factors would influence gardens of the future and realised that global warming and a shortage of water would probably be major factors. They created information sheets and compiled a video that highlighted these issues.

A second group grew and nurtured seedlings into life. These included a wide variety of plants – vegetables and fruit combined with flowers to display a broad sample of the productive and organic garden existing at Casebrook Intermediate.

Finally to give structure to the display the last group made curved wooden work-tables and a hydroponic unit for the water efficient growing of plants (growing hydroponically uses only 10% of the water needed for an in ground garden).

All of these elements were housed within the framework of our aluminium geodesic dome. This was developed as a Cantamath exhibit last year, and later this year will be assembled at Casebrook Intermediate as a glass house.

With all these different parts to the display it certainly had the teachers (Lauren Dick-McCann and Paul Cook) racing around at times.

Setting up the display was done over two days with the children that had developed different aspects of the garden. This was a big logistical event, with trailers and many journeys to the display and back.

The display drew wonderfully positive comments with most people surprised at the level of achievement for Intermediate aged children, and Casebrook’s effort was recognised by the judges with a Silver Award.

Thank you to all the children, parents and teachers that visited and supported us at this event. A huge WELL DONE to the Year 8 students that contributed to the impressive exhibit and have made a positive and permanent contribution to our school’s outdoor landscape.