Katikati Horticulture project encourages community support

Year 11 student James Evans has enjoyed taking part in the horticulture programme. Photo / Shauni James

A Katikati trust is excited about the strides it has taken throughout the year, but is still appealing to the community to help it unlock doors of opportunity.

The Katikati Innovative Horticulture Trust currently has pledges totalling just under $200,000, and these pledges have come from both within and outside of the horticulture industry.

It has recently launched a website, Facebook page and Givealittle page in the hopes of raising its profile and funding within the industry and the community.

The trust is keen to reach its fundraising target of $557,000 as soon as possible, in order to begin building a purpose-built facility.

The facility is to support the needs of the Katikati College Innovative Horticulture Programme, young people in the community not in education, training or employment and older people wishing to upskill and find employment in the region's growing horticulture industry.

Katikati College launched a pilot horticulture programme to get students into the kiwifruit industry.

Teacher Hilary Johnson started working on the pilot programme last year and overhauled the college's horticulture course, centred around gardening, which was in decline.

The trust is a project which was born from this.

Hilary said the college's programme was growing steadily with great results.

"Our current little home is bursting at the seams."

She said the $200,000 in pledges was exciting, but at the same time frustrating because it was not enough to move it ahead - "It seems so close".

The Givealittle page was set up a couple months ago but they were not going to push it until the trust became a registered charity, which it now was, Hilary said.

"It's an amazing feeling. It started as just an idea a little over a year-and-a-half ago and in that time created this programme ... and have proved the success of the programme.

With the website, Facebook and Givealittle pages, and flyers in place, the trust was now in a position to ask a range of operators in the industry for funding and engage in discussions with philanthropic organisations outside the industry, she said.

"We are also putting a push out to the community as it is very much a community-based project."

Katikati College horticulture head teacher Hilary Johnson with her students that she hoped would pursue jobs in the industry. Photo / File

Hilary encouraged people and businesses to get behind the trust's fundraising efforts as there were too many young people either unemployed in this region or who did not have a good pathway into a long term career.

"The horticulture industry offers that, and it's growing and has got an incredible need for skilled workers, and we believe these are things which this project will produce.

"We are now almost towards our second year running this programme and we are finding a lot of students have enjoyed it and stayed on going into other years."

She said the programme had gotten good academic results and growing enrolments.

Katikati College's Innovative Horticulture Programme had three strands including innovation and creativity, business management and plant science and technology.

Students could go into direct employment, cadetships or university, she said.

''In all cases across all of these pathways the industry needs trained and skilled people, and there are not enough students coming through.''

The college had a close relationship with big industry players including New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc, Zespri and Tauranga's economic agency Priority One.

There were local orchardists, packhouses and growers which hosted the students for all sorts of trips and activities, she said.

Next year will be the first official one where the full year 13 programme will be rolled out.

Year 11 student James Evans has enjoyed taking part in the horticulture programme. Photo / Shauni James

James Evans, 15, is one of the Year 11 students taking part in Katikati College's horticulture programme.

He said this was his first year studying horticulture and he took the programme because he had a couple free gaps in his timetable.

"It turned out to be quite incredible, what we've been doing".

He said studying horticulture had been amazing and there were a range of standards they got to do.

James said the biggest thing he had enjoyed about studying horticulture this year was the respirometer work they did - measuring the respiration rate of kiwifruit for StartAfresh.

He encouraged other students to give it a go because it helped you achieve your goals.

Also, because there were a wide range of other subjects included in the horticulture programme, as well as general practical skills they had learnt, he said.

James encouraged people to get behind the project and new facility as it meant people could learn new skills and things which would boost the community.

"The more students we get the more people we could get into horticulture as well."

(From left) Principal Carolyn Pentecost, RWNZ's Pat Williams, RWNZ area chairwoman Sue Vowell, teacher Hilary Johnson and RWNZ's Jenny Turner at the cheque handover. Photo / Supplied

Rural Women Support Local Rural Learning

Representatives of organisation Rural Women New Zealand recently visited Katikati College to show support for what Hilary and the rapidly growing Katikati Innovative Horticulture Charitable Trust are doing.

RWNZ has a strong focus on promoting rural vocational training and lifelong learning opportunities especially for women.

"Everything that we have heard about the Katikati College Innovative Horticulture Project has been along the lines that Rural Women New Zealand wants our primary sector education and training to go" said RWNZ area chairwoman Sue Vowell.

Sue, along with Pat Williams and Jenny Turner who both have a particular interest in the horticulture project through their local grandchildren, were impressed hearing Hilary and the college principal Carolyn Pentecost explain their future plans and the results already being achieved by the initial students.

"We wish to show our Rural Women New Zealand enthusiasm for the potential of this new approach to practical learning, which is attracting more young people into the wide range of opportunities offered around the horticulture sector, from growing our food to advanced research into new technologies", said Sue as she presented a cheque for $1500 for use by the project.