Gardening introduction bears fruit
The Introduction to Gardening microcredential course, a partnership between NMIT and the Selmes Garden Charitable Trust, wrapped up its inaugural run on Friday at Selmes’ facility on Battys Rd. Photo: Supplied.
Evan Tuchinsky
The seed of an idea has borne its first harvest - the fruits of students’ labour from an innovative class on horticulture. The Introduction to Gardening microcredential course, a partnership between NMIT and the Selmes Garden Charitable Trust, wrapped up its inaugural run on Friday at Selmes’ facility on Battys Rd.
Seven of the 10 students who started the class 16 weeks earlier attended regularly through to the end. The final session featured a barbecue lunch and opportunities for the participants to showcase their work.
Introduction to Gardening provides hand-on instruction in an outdoor setting conducive to the needs of people with developmental disabilities. Pam Wood, curriculum area manager of primary food and environmental industries, introduced a comparable course in Auckland before coming to Marlborough. The concept took root here with cooperation between NMIT and Selmes.
“I developed a passion to upskill as so often, supported learners are disregarded. If we can make their lives meaningful, it’s such a wonderful opportunity for them and an extremely practically based programme demonstrating the various tasks.”
Student Simon Ridder led a tour for retired horticulturalist John van Delft and his wife of the site where Selmes previously operated a garden centre and now supplies plants for others to sell. Simon proudly pointed to planting tables he assembled, one of which held seedlings he potted.
Closer to the entrance, at the long display table, Jayden Luke pruned the tips of leaves on a mature plant bearing an advisory sign stating, “Jayden’s trolley plants!! Stay away from them”.
Jayden, a Marlborough Boys’ College student, first came to Selmes for work experience. “I loved coming here,” he said after the pruning. When he heard about the course, he took the opportunity to further his knowledge of horticulture.
Before this, Jayden had done no work with plants. He intends to follow in the family footsteps of dairy farming, but gardening may now become a hobby.
