A growing awareness of healthy living

Natasha Welch (L) and Paris Shum-Kuen-Ip exercise their green thumbs. Photo / Greg Bowker

Eating veges at playtime has a new appeal for children at Royal Road primary, now that they are planting, tending and cooking the vegetables themselves.

Children like Natasha Welch, 8, and Paris Shum-Kuen-Ip, 8, have been raising pumpkins, tomatoes, potatoes and herbs from a plot at their school in the West Auckland suburb of Massey.

Older children have been learning to turn barrows of potatoes into shepherds pie, and armloads of pumpkins into soup - sprinkled with a dash of coriander from the herb garden. It is part of a plan by the district's health board, Waitemata, to get children and their families cooking and eating more healthily.

Principal Wayne Leighton said the children had taken well to the gardening classes.

"It's just that satisfaction of taking it all the way from planting to eating."

Thirteen families had asked for gardening kits to start gardens at home.

The next project was to plant an orchard of feijoas, guavas and citrus trees for children to eat at morning fruit breaks. "No pun intended - but we really want to keep growing it," said Mr Leighton.

DHB Healthy Eating Manager Angela O'Carroll said gardening helped children understand where their food came from.

The $3 million Nutrition Fund was set up in 2004.

It is shared between the 21 DHBs each year and grants usually range between $1000 and $10,000 per school.