Kaikorai Valley College pupils are about to find out after a large crop of carrots, grown on the school’s Urban Farm, were harvested this week and given to the school canteen.
"It’s a good source of vitamin C. It’s supposed to make you see better."
Ms Mason was delighted to start receiving vegetables from the Urban Farm because it could save the canteen hundreds of dollars each year in grocery bills.
Urban Farm co-ordinator and science teacher Ruth Eley said the farm was established in 2015 by science and technology learning innovation in agriculture programme leader Simon McMillan.
The aim was to make the school more environmentally sustainable.
Mrs Eley said it was an ambitious project. The school and particularly the pupils were proud to finally see it coming to fruition.
"We planted some vegetables last year and we harvested peas at the beginning of this year, and students were completely enthused by eating them fresh out of the pods.
"One of the things that students said last year that was really important for them was that they wanted their canteen to be selling some of the food that they grew.
"With the increase in the price of lettuces, I approached the canteen and said we had some lettuces, ‘would you like them?’
"What was really exciting was when the kids found out the canteen was selling the farm’s lettuces for the first time.
"They felt like they had achieved something. And it tastes better when you’ve grown it yourself.
"It’s inspiring them to go home and plant their own vegetables.
"One pupil wants to go home and grow tomatoes, so we’ve talked about whether she will need a glasshouse to do that in Dunedin.
"So there’s also lots of sharing knowledge."
