Environmental courses growing on locals

BY LUCY VICKERS

About one in five of the North Shore’s population has taken part in a council-supported environmental programme during the past year.

These include home composting courses, tree planting days and stream restoration projects.

North Shore City Council says the numbers involved have doubled in five years – from nearly 23,000 in 2005 to 46,500 in the past year.

Sustainable environment team leader Trish Kirkland-Smith says this confirms residents are interested in environmental issues.

"People are keen to learn about composting and home gardening, they want to restore their backyard streams, they want to reduce the amount of waste produced, and they want to be more energy efficient."

Schools are doing their part through the Enviroschools programme and waste minimisation projects.

Darren Millington is an organic gardening expert who worked with the council on the Naturally Smarter Garden display at the North Shore Home Show.

The Birkenhead resident also helped develop gardens at RidgeView School.

Students planted raised vegetable beds, fruit trees and Mr Millington showed them how to make compost.

He is a tutor for Create your own Eden. This course includes composting, worm farming, and bokashi – a process developed in Japan which also breaks down food scraps.

Bokashi uses a fermented wheat-bran mixture in a bucket system where food is literally pickled.

Mr Millington says he got into organic gardening about eight years ago.

Previous to that he worked in a factory for optical lenses.

Mr Millington has also made antennas and tin cans.

"It was soul crushing work."

He says gardening is much more suited to him.

"It’s given me a boost up and bit of direction.

"I have a more positive outlook and haven’t looked back since."

Mr Millington recently started his own business to help people build raised beds, compost systems and help people learn how to get their gardens growing successfully.

- © Fairfax NZ News