Already one of the most beautiful parts of the country – Blenheim now has some new and improved gardens thanks to some hard work from locals.
“We wanted to go all out to celebrate this year’s Little Garden campaign,” says Melanie Shore, owner-operator of New World Blenheim. “So on Tuesday [September 12], with the help of renowned garden designer Xanthe White and a swarm of our store team members, we’ve revamped the supermarket gardens to showcase what our customers’ gardens will look like once they’ve grown all the Little Garden seedlings they earn as part of the promotion.
“We’ve also installed two Leafcutter Beehouses, complete with leafcutter bees. The bees are non-swarming and do not sting, but they are one of the most prolific pollinators in Nature. They’ll be working hard, once they hatch in summer, to keep our gardens and our neighbours’ lush and productive,” she says.
The supermarket has also donated a Beehouse, Bumblebee Nesting Box and seedlings to local school Witherlea School. “Our children attend this amazing school which has a very well developed environmental programme encouraging young ones to understand where their food comes from and how they can protect and improve their surroundings,” says Shore. “We were delighted to be able to gift the school some new tools and plants they can use to create even more incredible gardens.”
Principal Murray Hewson says, “We have an active Enviro Group made up of Year 5 and 6 students who work so hard to do the right thing alongside one of our teachers Sarah Jane Knowles. Being part of this project is a great way to reward them for their labours on less glamorous tasks like composting and recycling!”
A key element of Little Garden is a huge education programme delivered through primary schools up and down the country by the Ministry of Done. Witherlea School, along with hundreds of other schools, will receive a tray of seedling pots, a Leafcutter Bee House and Bumble Bee Nesting Box made in Timaru by Creative Woodcraft. Each Leafcutter Bee house comes with a supply of cocoons for school children to look after. The bees will then return the favour by pollinating school gardens.
There are 23 seedlings up for grabs in the New World Little Garden campaign; in store until Sunday 22 October, 2017.
