Mike King in the green house classroom at Ōtaki College. Photo / Rosalie Willis
Mike King in the green house classroom at Ōtaki College. Photo / Rosalie Willis
Learning in an outdoor classroom surrounded by tropical fruits, native spices and microgreens with tree stumps for seats, Ōtaki College's Aho Aho Adventures is an opportunity to connect students with nature.
Working with students who struggle to sit still in class, local forager Mike King has created an outdoor classroom and chill out space for students to visit, which stimulates the senses in all the right ways.
Revamping the school's garden, which has sat overgrown after five years of neglect, Mike has worked with Ōtaki College learning support coordinator Kate Lindsay to create a safe, natural space for students who struggle in class.
Ōtaki College greenhouse classroom. Photo / Rosalie Willis
After meeting at a food hui run by the Kāpiti Coast District Council, the two worked together to create a plan to reinvigorate the space and get funding to support the students.
Securing 20 hours a week of funding for 27 weeks from the New Zealand Community Trust, along with $15,000 from council, has allowed Mike to firstly clear the area of weeds, overgrown bushes, and then create infrastructure and a market garden.
The funding pays his wages with him dropping down to 10 hours a week during the school holidays to maintain the lawns, weed the garden beds and do plantings while the students were away.
Mike King maintained the garden over the summer while students were away. Photo / Rosalie Willis
"I was invited to the food hui and didn't really know what I was doing there but I met Kate who had recently discovered the space at Ōtaki College and wanted to rekindle it.
"Kate is like a social worker and she filters the kids out that could benefit from working with me.
"At the beginning, I was working one on one with students but now there are often two students at a time."
Working mostly with young boys aged 10-13 who struggle to sit still in class, Mike said the outdoors environment immediately stimulates their senses.
Microgreens are grown by students at Ōtaki College. Photo / Rosalie Willis
"Outside is a really good environment for the boys as there are so many things to look at and stimulate them.
"There's always movement around them along with smells and noises so they can feel more comfortable sitting still in this environment."
Taking them through the garden and getting them to touch and smell the produce on their first visit, Mike shows them around and gets them doing jobs in the greenhouse classroom if it's not too hot.
Learning what vegetables are ready for harvesting, watering plants and even experimenting with different ice cream flavours has gradually got the students coming back as Mike has established the space and welcomed them in.
"I'm not a teacher or social worker, but I feel like I can relate to the students as I was a bit like they were when I was in class.
"My personal goal is to spark an interest in nature in others because I found it very beneficial for me."
Spades for gardening at Ōtaki College. Photo / Rosalie Willis
Trialling a number of ways to use the produce grown, the students have made produce boxes and sold them to teachers and have also partnered with Elishka Graham from Māoriland who also grow their own produce and distribute it around the community.
"By selling the produce to the teachers it gets them more involved and interested.
"They have to come out to the garden to collect it which means they see what we're doing, we create that connection and then have more support.
"People have suggested the kids have it and we've tried a number of ways of them taking the vegetables but have found them just randomly picking vegetables doesn't always work – they need to learn when they're ripe and we need a connection with the teachers, to get their support."
Ōtaki College greenhouse classroom. Photo / Rosalie Willis
The school now has horticulture classes that will make use of the gardens, along with the home economics classes.
The space is available to the students whenever Mike is there, which is signified by the gates to the garden being open.
"The kids can come in whenever the gates are open and with them having to wear masks now, more of them are keen to get outside.
"I've slowly been building relationships and now have groups of kids who come to hang out here at lunchtime."
With a background as an arborist and landscaper, Mike juggles his time between growing vegetables, building and maintaining infrastructure such as chopping trees, building a sink in the packing shed and working with students.
When students come, they join Mike with what he is doing or are given tasks they can complete while he works.
Popular with the students is Mike's ice cream creations.
Previously foraging for restaurants and a number of gin distilleries, Mike's current project includes making ice cream from his finds.
"I wanted to try to incorporate my ice cream and foraging with the college somehow.
"We have to use at least one ingredient we have grown from Aho Aho and then I serve it to anyone who wants one."
With a number of students wandering down each week to see what the newest ice cream flavour is, Mike is now making around 50 tasters per week.
Flavours have included basil and apple sorbet with the next flavour idea being to use the mint which has been growing and make a mint chocolate chip ice cream.
With funding from the NZCT almost up, Mike is relying on a new lot of funding coming through in March but is hoping they can keep the garden and student support going until it is confirmed.
"There was a feeling when I first started that I would be gone within a month because a number of groups have tried to reinvigorate the garden over the years, but now we're here to stay.
"I've been working with the students for about four months and the relationships are growing, they're getting to know me better.
"There are lots more opportunities for students to take up, including creating a gardening club, setting up social enterprises selling microgreens and hosting events in the space."
