We are interested in hearing from anyone from the school whanau who might be interested in taking over maintenance of the school gardens/planted areas. This is a paid position on a self-employed basis, with hours ranging from about 5 to 20 hours per month. Our current gardener is hoping to finish up from next year, and is hoping to find someone from the school community to hand this over to.

Since 2017, a ‘landscaping group’ made up of a small group of interested parents and teachers has helped to steer the direction of landscaping, including planting plans, within the school grounds. A big focus during that time has been the removal of the many invasive plants (or “weeds”) that were growing on school grounds, and replanting with native plants provided by Wellington City Council. Creating native plant landscapes and great habitats for the rich native bird, lizard, and invertebrate life we find in Karori is an important part of the kaupapa of the landscape group and the wider school community. We have made a lot of progress on removing the invasive plants, but there are a few that are still a work in progress, and there are still seeds from the weedy plants in the ground (as well as influx from surrounding properties), so maintaining the weed-free status requires ongoing monitoring and control. The work of the gardener is complemented by annual parent working bees (which the gardener, along with the PTA and Landscape Group, has had a role in planning), and external arborists can also be brought in for large tree work when needed.

The job would suit somebody who is familiar with the weedy species of Wellington (or is keen to learn), has reasonable fitness and strength, and has a passion for protecting and enhancing Aotearoa’s native biodiversity. Please contact ckelly@kns.school.nz if you are interested in knowing more about this role.