Young students eye the big dry

School children at a rural Hawke's Bay school have been studying the dry summer weather that was this week tipped to become the worst drought in the region in 50 years.

Room 3 at Poukawa School have been studying the conditions that have turned their southern Hawke's Bay farmland "golden, instead of green".

Classroom teacher Jill Simons said the students wrote poems as part of their writing lessons, as the view outside the classroom windows could no longer be ignored.

"Some of the kids live on farms and we have a rural school and it is just very golden out there," she said.

"This is something that's really struck us and it does affect some of them."

The classroom assignment was part of learning to be "explorers of the world" where children examined and questioned their own environments.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council last week announced it was preparing a report on drought conditions for Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.

The Miserable Drought

Summer is here as dry as ever

Everyone's cautious of the weather

All the farmers have left are bales of hay

For the following March, April and May

The farmers are desperate for lots of rain

But all they get is the smoky dry pain

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday too

Dry as ever

How about you?

- Declan O'Brien, 9

Drought

As the sun creeps across the horizon, the grass shrivels up for another day of drought.

While the birds are wailing for rain, the cicadas are chirping of happiness.

Water is replaced by dry artwork-like cracks.

As crumbly as a Christchurch building, the dirt is ready to swallow me up.

- Hannah Roberts, 9

The Lion

Tiny golden cracks form, little ants weave their way through.

The only thing alive is the green weeds.

The ground is hard, golden, instead of green.

Cracked instead of lush green grass.

A huge lion nestles and acts instead of the fertile green Poukawa hills I'm used to seeing.

Patches and patches of golden pine smelling grass.

Cows are looking for some green grass searching but not finding.

Wondering where is the green? That is what I'm wondering too!

This sure is a drought.

- Libby Bush, 10