Hunter Farrand, 4, pictured with his mum Alyssa, became interested in gardening during New World’s seedling promotion called Little Garden. Photo / Jenny Ling
Hunter Farrand, 4, pictured with his mum Alyssa, became interested in gardening during New World’s seedling promotion called Little Garden. Photo / Jenny Ling
Hunter Farrand became interested in gardening at the age of 2, sparked by New World’s seedling promotion called Little Garden.
The Kerikeri resident enjoyed collecting the seedlingkits of herbs and vegetables, aimed at helping kids learn about growing their own vege patch, eating in-season, and incorporating more vegetables into their meals.
Hunter put the seeds into trays and when they were ready, transplanted them in the ground.
The family now has six raised garden beds at their Kerikeri property, along with a thriving orchard with various fruit trees.
Now aged 4, Hunter reeled off names of the plants in his vege patch when the Northern Advocate visited; strawberries, asparagus, tomatoes, kale and chives, along with herbs such as lemongrass, rosemary and mint.
Mum Alyssa Farrand encourages his passion and is inspired by her son’s perseverance and dedication to plants.
“He loves his garden and everything to do with growing and harvesting,” she said.
“Seeds often end up in his Christmas stocking or as birthday presents.
“We do the weeding for him, we all try to keep it up, but Hunter is the biggest driver.”
Hunter Farrand loves planting seeds in the garden of the family's Kerikeri property and reaping the rewards. Photo / Jenny Ling
The family recently planted swan plants to attract monarch butterflies so Hunter and his little brother Carter can trace the changes from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly.
Hunter is a keen gardener at his local daycare and he’s even learning to make meals from his produce; recently he mixed asparagus, spinach and beans with sauteed onions and butter in a salad.
“Whatever he’s growing he tries to mix and match, we let him experiment and do whatever he wants to try,” Alyssa said.
“If he disappears, often he’ll be in the orchard or in the garden.
“It helps ground him and they can see their achievements.
“It also teaches them about failure, which is huge.
“Not everything you’re going to plant is going to grow. It might not be the right time of the year.”
Building life skills through gardening
Increasing numbers of children are donning gardening gloves and heading into the garden.
There are now 308 schools involved in the Garden to Table programme across Aotearoa, which empowers children to grow, harvest, prepare and share nutritious food.
Of these, 26 are Northland schools from as far north as Te Hapua.
The Garden to Table Trust, a charity focused on food education, has championed the kitchen and garden as a classroom since 2008.
It works by building life skills through practical hands-on classes that are linked to the school curriculum.
Chief executive Ani Brunet said the benefits of gardening are huge.
Garden to Table Trust chief executive Ani Brunet says the benefits of gardening for children include mental health and wellbeing, and teamwork.
Apart from gardening skills such as learning how to compost, get seeds from plants, soil science, watering, weeding, and pest control, there are many other positives for children, she said.
Brunet said learning to share food was also important.
Manaakitanga, the notion of hospitality, generosity, respect and inclusion is incorporated into the programme.
“They learn to eat together and have that social connection, and have the time to appreciate each others’ company and enjoy the food and the korero.”
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering health, roading, lifestyle, business and animal welfare issues.
