Kindergarten leading way in growing healthy food

Milla Taylor (left), Stella Linklater and Kelsi McKay work in the vege patch. PHOTO/LIN FERGUSON

Bulls Kindergarten is open, spacious, sunlit and healthy.

A Healthy Heart Award for Early Childhood Education hangs pride of place on the wall.

This kindy is very proud of its Enviroschool status and the teachers work hard with the children, paving the way to healthy eating and living.

"You're never too young to learn healthy living," said teacher Kelsi McKay.

A flourishing raised vege garden planted with potatoes, carrots, beetroot, peas, artichokes and silverbeet is carefully tended everyday by the children under the guidance of staff, one of the essentials of Enviroschools.

The first project at the kindergarten was creating a recycling system for their lunchtime waste as well as saving scraps to feed their two chickens, she said.

There is also a worm farm and compost with each bin clearly displaying what should be put inside, said Kelsi.

"It's great to see that what we do at kindergarten is having a wider impact in our community. Everything links to sustainability for the future of your kindergarten children."

The NZ Heart Foundation say the Bulls kindergarten was the first early childhood centre in the Manawatu-Wanganui region to reach the level of "flourishing healthy practices" and is the highest of three levels in the Healthy Heart Award (HHA) for the Early Childhood Centre programme.

The staff all work hard with the children in the garden planting the vegetable seeds, growing the vegetables and then preparing and eating them, Kelsi said.

From making delicious soups to noodle and vege fritters, they also use the lemons from the small orchard to make small pots of lemon honey which they sell, she said.

Kelsi said it's good to know that the "enviro way" meant they were creating leaders.

"Children become the teachers to their families and peers."