There has been much excitement around the monarch caterpillars over the last fortnight, as the caterpillars formed chrysalises. The first challenge has been to spot where they are all hanging, there are about 5 or 6 altogether, have you found all of them? Hopefully it won’t be long and the monarch butterflies will emerge, if they haven’t already.

The hard work in the garden has continued over the last fortnight as we transition into our Autumn and Winter crops. We have loads of rich compost ready to replenish the nutrients in the soil and have begun planting seeds – kale, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, spring onions and carrots.

In Years 3 and 4 we have been learning parts of the flower and pollination. In Year 5 we have started to look at environmental issues, and will continue by thinking about our own footprint on the environment and some changes we can make in our everyday lives.

FOS Worm Castings and Compost

Please get in touch if you would like to purchase worm castings for your garden. Your plants will absolutely love you for it, and only $5 per 2 litre container! Add 1 Tablespoon to your indoor plants or mix the whole container with a bucket full of water and this will cover a large area of the garden. This will add rich nutrients to your soil – perfect for your next crop.

Our compost bins are also mostly full and the compost needs to be moved on so we can continue to rotate the bins. Please get in touch if you would like some of our very own FOS compost for your garden and we can negotiate quantities and pricing.

All funds raised go directly back into our Environmental programme run in every classroom at school. If you would like to purchase some worm castings or compost you can find me at school on a Tuesday and Wednesday. You can also email me and arrange collection.

Terracycle Recycling Tower

We have the recycling tower outside the library again this year. There are 4 drawers in the trolley where we collect the following items:

· Oral Hygiene products: Used toothbrushes, dental floss containers and toothpaste tubes.

· Yoghurt Pouches: these can be any brand of yoghurt pouches.

· Ziplock bags – all brands.

These items get sent away to Terracycle for recycling.

Rebecca Dalton

Rebecca.dalton@fendalton.school.nz