Friday 19 August 2016
The Weekend Sun
30
Linking children to living on the land It sounds like the start of a joke. Two house cows, a few horses, three kunekune pigs, chickens – and a morepork that’s adopted the Powell family and lives in a tree around the back. But it’s not joke – the Powell family run two tiny hectares in Papamoa that are opening up a huge agricultural world to Kiwi kids who nowadays have no links to the land at all. That’s why father Kevin Powell set up Teacher in the Paddock about 18 months ago, at their leased property on Tara Rd. “Our lifestyle is a little different and it’s doing a lot of things by hand,” says the trained teacher. “Through doing my teaching degree I learned there’s a lot of resources online but not much where you can immerse yourself in – whether it is see, smell, touch feel, taste. “And for the rural side of things there wasn’t really anything where children could come in –even if they hate animals or were terrified of them or any of those things – and have a platform to relate.” So six children after-school – and eight during schools holidays – get a teacher in a paddock experience. Kevin and wife Jane, a gardening guru who shares her wealth of knowledge about food, with daughter Mariana, passionately show children, parents and community where their food comes from and how to eat nutritionally well. The children get hands-on milking cows, horse riding, growing crops, looking after animals – there’s honey extraction from beehives, to butter or bread-making to popping ‘popcorn’ from dried corn grown out back.
And feeding chickens and learning about composting, worm farming etc. And more importantly they make that connection of how farming produces food. “So it’s about connecting people with their food. We’ve had comments like ‘Why isn’t the cow blue?’ Because kids only see the blue branding on the milk bottle at the supermarket,” says Kevin. The Powells also host woofers, community groups, kindergarten children and international students on their property. Jane holds informal workshops on preparing probiotic food and drink and cultured foods. And
Kevin hosts the cheese making workshops. And the reaction? “They are just gobsmacked most of the time.” “It helps connect children and adults with their food, where it comes from and how it impacts our health and wellbeing, as well as many other aspects of renewable living principles,” says Kevin. And he says the children get a confidence boost. “Their whole beings change – and I strongly believe these experiences set them up life’s challenges for later in life.” Merle Foster
Corban McLeod milking Amber, watched by Kevin Powell.
Regional council says beware – spray is in the air It’s a time for diplomacy, dialogue and understanding. and consideration from both growers The kiwifruit spray season starts this month and the and neighbours. Bay of Plenty Regional Council has appealed for care “Growers are usually compliant with spray rules but a little extra care would be appropriate,” says BOPRC senior pollution prevention officer John Morris. Hydrogen cyanamide, often referred to by its brand name ‘Hi-Cane’, is sprayed onto kiwifruit vines this month to increase the quantity of fruit on the vines, to promote bud break or growth from buds and encourage earlier and shorter flowering. But for humans there are downsides. The chemical has a “mild toxicity”.
Exposure to hydrogen cyanamide can cause eye irritation, gastro-intestinal symptoms of nausea and vomiting, headaches and erythema or reddening of the skin. It’s also reported to have caused respiratory irritation. Consequently, neighbours like to be notified about Hi-Cane spraying so they can take extra precautions such as moving stock, keeping pets inside, or going elsewhere while the spray is being applied. Unsafe or un-notified spraying should be reported to the regional council’s pollution hotline on 0800 884 883. The hotline is staffed 24/7.