Horty Kim

Part of my work at Otago Polytechnic is putting together workshops for Occupational Therapy students so they can learn horticulture skills which they in turn can teach patients as a form of therapy.What is Occupational Therapy?

In the past the workshops introduced the OT students to basic horticulture skills which have included :propagation techniques , creating an edible garden at the art school , and bonsai for beginners. James Sunderland contacted me at the end of last year and, again , asked if I would be willing to lead some workshops in 2008 and could we look at integrating a sustainability theme.Sure! I said. So this year the workshops will look at :

Vegetable gardening

Over the last few years I have created a vege garden at our Polygrow Nursery where we grow a variety of veg all year round.We will use this space to prep, plant and grow our 2008 crops. It really is so satisfying when I see students take home a lettuce or a bag of silver beet and I want the OT students to enjoy the fruits of their labour in a similar way.

Activity:

Composting

Worm Farming

Propagation

What I would like to do is use my blog or wiki to create resources and activities to help introduce and back up the practical sessions.