Students to Help Grow Gardens Native Plant Collection

This Thursday afternoon, 25 students from Ardgowan School will be helping plant some of the 1500 native plants that have been purchased for the New Zealand Native Plants Section of the Oamaru Public Gardens.

It has been several years since this number of plants has been purchased for the Gardens, and the additional plants will significantly improve the quality of the Native Plants Section, which was established in 1981.

Gardens’ Curator, Lucas le Roux, selected the plant species and is coordinating their planting alongside other Gardens’ staff.

Mr le Roux invited the Ardgowan School students to assist, with the aim of helping them learn more about plants, caring for the environment and community involvement. He is also hoping that the assistance from the Ardgowan School students will be the pilot to a programme that will involve other schools with future plantings at the Gardens.

Species purchased for the Native Plants Section include Coprosma, Chionochloa, Dianella and a large selection of Hebes. All of the plants have been sourced locally from Matai Nurseries Ltd in Waimate.

Council has recently made funding available through the Gardens’ operational budget to purchase plants on an annual basis. This will enable staff to plan and programme for new plants each year to ensure that the Gardens provide and retain a quality collection for the community.