The school's 270 pupils were presented with an EnviroSchools Silver Award for their efforts in keeping the school clean, planting native trees and growing their own vegetables on school grounds.
Kaikorai teacher and EnviroSchools co-ordinator Amy McBeath said the pupils grew marrows, pumpkins and a range of international herbs in their garden, using the produce for soups and relishes.
Some pupils did not realise food did not originate from supermarket shelves, until they tasted the fruits of their own labour.
"One of the things we've noticed since starting our vegetable patch at school is the kids have taken more of an interest in gardening at home.
''Initially, some of them hadn't understood you can actually eat plants."
Silver Awards were rare and Kaikorai Primary was only the third school to be presented with one in Dunedin in the past six years, Dunedin City Council EnviroSchools facilitator Davina Hunt said.
