Last week the children of Addington school, staff and friends of the school planted out 250 flowering plants, and sprinkled wildflower seeds on part of an empty site on Selwyn St. The row of shops had all been removed after damage during the earthquakes. With the land owners permission and as part of Greening Spaces, the children had spread compost the previous day and then were able to walk down from school class by class to each put in a plant. A path was put in to allow access to the road crossing, and the children used the rubble on the site to mark out the garden area. The children had a ball and were very enthusiastic planters! Everyone got stuck in. Passersby would stop and add their encouragement, some were reduced to tears, they were so happy to see the children working at making a difference. Many cars waved and tooted their encouragement. It was a very special day. If you get a chance, go past to have a look at this piece of magic!
Greening Spaces is an organisation that allows schools in Christchurch to bring colour to sites in their neighbourhood. Andrew Drummond is the coordinator and with the help of Meadow Mushrooms, Frews Transport, and the people of Ashburton, has been able to work with schools on several sites around the city. The flowering plants for the Selwyn St site are from the same people as the hanging baskets in the new Pop Up Mall in town and look fantastic!
