EAST Club - Ellesmere Agricultural, Science and Technology Club

EAST Club is well-known for our local pet day but where did we begin?

In 1938 the Ellesmere Boys and Girls Agricultural Club began for children to show their lambs, calves, flowers and kitchen garden before they could show their animals at the local Ellesmere A & P show and then the regional Canterbury A & P show.

In 1991 the modern equivalent EAST Club was formed by local parents to expand and include Science and Technology projects. Lambs and calves were soon joined by dogs, ponies, goats, chickens, rabbits, cats, eels and even a leveret! City schools began to be invited, entertainment, a sausage sizzle and a coffee cart were added and the day became a popular community event. A garden section was added in 2012, the brain child of community member Alan Jones and sponsored by the ‘Seeds for Schools’ programme and the Ellesmere Lions.

Our pet day and garden competition are an important part of our unique rural environment but we need your help to keep offering this to the community. We are a parent-run club and appreciate the support of families, Alan Jones, Ellesmere Lions, Ellesmere A & P show, our wonderful school teachers who mark projects and supervise students on the day, and of course all our wonderful judges, we couldn’t do it without you!

This year our pet day will be held on the morning of Friday the 3rd of November at the Ellesmere showgrounds.

You can be involved by entering:

• Your family pet.

• A Science and Technology project.

• A garden (judged at home over Christmas and New Year).

Entry forms are distributed through the local schools (Leeston, Southbridge and Ellesmere College (Year 7’s and 8’s).

Get involved! Show off your pet! Experiment and investigate something you have always wondered about! Grow a garden and enjoy home grown fresh vegetables!

Past entrants have you had further success at the Ellesmere and Canterbury A & P shows or maybe the Southbridge Horticulture show? We would love to know, please get in contact!

Entry forms are below.

Contact: Mrs. Lesley Stoliker 0275324227

eastclub22@gmail.com