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The students are nearing the end of their one year course. They have laearned a lot and are keen to put it into practice. Viola, our life skills teacher, has settled in very well with Growing The Future and is doing a wonderful job with the students. As we are nearing winter it is getting quieter in the garden although we still planted strawberries, garlic and onions. A few of the pigs are pregnant and we are expecting our first piglets in June.
Gansbaai finally has a high school! The new Gansbaai Secondary School opened in January alongside the Spaces for Sport grounds. It was opened as a no fee school to benefit the local community, and although a low fee has been implemented to cover some running costs, this still leaves the school with many requirements.
Recently, the Grootbos Foundation Landscaping Collaborative, along with Dyer Island Conservation Trust, embarked on a mini project to “green” the new school by donating and planting twenty trees as well as sponsoring some much needed hose pipes.
With our local press in attendance, and some very enthusiastic school pupils of Grade 9, we all got our hands dirty, learning how to correctly plant and position a tree as well as how often to water it. We planted two hardy tree types to withstand the winds and salty air – the camphor bush and the wild silver oak. The trees were given personal names by the pupils as they took ownership as to their future care. We hope that in twenty years times the trees will stand as testament to the school’s history and something that those pupils involved will look back on with pride. A special thanks to the Grootbos Foundation, the Dyer Island Conservation Trust, the high-school students and all the others involved in this special project!
New Green Futures Class of 2010
We are proud to announce that once again, our 2009 Green Future graduates had a 100% pass rate and are actively preparing themselves for the exciting challenges lying ahead. Some of the graduates have been allocated to work at Grootbos, with the vision of becoming nature guides or part of the green team, whilst others have found landscaping jobs elsewhere in the Western Cape.
The new intake of Green Futures started on the 11th of January 2010 and the classroom is already full of enthusiasm and excitement. The teachers have already planned for the students to have a field trip once a month, with their first one already being completed at Salmonsdam. They are also planning to do a lot of landscaping and garden maintenance and hopefully get a landscaping assignment at the new Green Point soccer stadium!
Last week the Green Futures students and staff drove out to Worcester to visit the beautiful and well regarded Karoo National Botanical Garden.
The vegetation found in these gardens is extremely unique, and many similarities are found with some of the succulent species that occurr in the Grootbos area. Much of the plantlife however, was very new to the students, and proved to be a fantastic experience for them. It was great for them to examine the plants in such a dry climate as well, as this is central to the theme of water-wise gardening, which we are very focussed on at the Green Futures Nursery and Grootbos Foundation Landscaping Collaborative.
The little outings such as this one are so important for the students, especially at this late stage of their course. It gives them some added exposure to the world out there, and inpsires them towards the different places where they could find employment. A great day, that was enjoyed by all!
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