Landscaping can be quite an education. Nigel Benson goes digging.
When teachers at Arthur Burns Preschool in Mosgiel were planning a new outdoor area, they wanted something that would captivate their pupils; something the children would both enjoy and learn from.
The result of the $30,000 project has exceeded all expectations, according to head teacher Lyn Collins.
"We also wanted it to be multicultural and to reflect our area and our early settlers. We wanted as many aspects of our children's culture and heritage as we could.
"We wanted the children to know about their local environment and about managing resources, like the conservation of water. The educational aspect was very important to us."
The preschool has 54 children on its roll, divided between morning and afternoon sessions.
Dunedin landscape designer Neville Stewart was invited to tender a design for the space.
"It was really a dead space - just lawn - and they wanted to do something with the play area and brought me in as a designer and consultant," he said.
"They wanted to teach the kids to have respect in all aspects of the play equipment and how they treat each other. There is also an educational aspect to it. They learn about water storage, use and where water comes from. It becomes water play for them. They also learn what happens if it doesn't rain."
Four 1000-litre tanks collect rainwater from the preschool roof and divert it into a water race which wends its way around the play area.
"They learn about the whole idea of what happens to rainwater. It combines eco-design with urban design. It's a permaculture ethos. I call it an 'eco oasis'."
Stewart has more than 30 years' experience in gardening, horticulture and landscaping. He has tended plants at the Montecillo War Veterans' Home, Invercargill Parks and Reserves, Glenfalloch Woodland Gardens and the Dunedin Botanic Garden. He has also tutored at the Wakari Herb Farm and Otago Polytechnic.
His company specialises in garden renovations, makeovers, design, management and maintenance.
The centrepiece of the design is a waka arch, designed in consultation with local iwi.
"People want a lot out of their landscape and it's always a collaboration. That's always my approach to landscaping. Listening and finding out what people want and then putting it all together," he said.
"I didn't know how the kids would respond to it, but they love it. They were out there with dinosaurs, giving them drinks of water and taking them swimming. Tying feathers around the arch and moving the stones around."
There was also a practical reason for the project.
"The area gets very hot in summer; too hot for the kids. In winter, you get a screaming cold wind coming through. We're using deciduous trees, to let the sun in in winter and protect it in summer."
The design includes a wetland area and a shade-cloth pergola.
"We usually do three levels, so you get ground cover, body height and what I call 'vertical' height. That way, you get texture, foliage, colour and height," Mr Stewart said.
"They're all natives; flaxes, kanuka, coprosma, red tussocks, cabbage trees, lancewoods and divaricating plants.
"Divaricating plants are kind of matted and they're an interesting New Zealand plant. There's a theory that these plants evolved that way to prevent moa browsing. It's also thought to be protection against frosts and mountain conditions."
Stage two of the project is to establish four garden beds to teach the pupils about crop rotation.
"We're going to be putting a vege garden in, and growing apples and fruit and espalier, as well as a worm farm and compost bin.
"You're trying to create an environment like a micro-climate and for it to become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
The design has been a hit with young and old at the school.
"The children love it. They became involved right away, as soon as we took them through the plans," Mrs Collins said.
"We see the children hopping on the tree stumps and shifting stones from one area to another, or just sitting in one of the little areas and just running their hands through the water.
"There's an interactive play and dialogue happening with the children that is quite fantastic to watch. They're learning and they're getting that tactile experience."
