Mon, 30 Nov 2009 8:55a.m.
By Lyn Potter
After teacher Waveney Bryant and Room 14 at Meadowbank Primary School had created an edible garden outside their classroom they set themselves a new challenge: to build a wood fired pizza oven! Waveney searched the Internet and local library for blueprints and, with kiwi ingenuity, figured out how it could be done.
With the generous help of a $1000 Unisys Kidz Connect Grant the class was able to turn their dream into reality. They now have an adobe style wood fired pizza oven in their school grounds which they built from scratch. The fresh organic vegetables which they have grown themselves make tasty pizza toppings.
Building the wood fired pizza oven was a huge learning curve for the kids from Room 14. The school’s 2 caretakers were very helpful but the pupils did a lot of the work themselves.
First they had to lay the foundations, and then build the brick base. When the base was a hollow pit the kids brought in wine bottles to fill the cavity. They also put in a time capsule.
The dome was built up using a layered approach; sand dome, fire bricks, a fire blanket for insulation, chicken wire and then 2 layers of plaster,
In the process the kids acquired a lot of knowledge and skills such as understanding the importance of a solid foundation, how to smooth out plaster and how to insulate to conserve the heat.
When it was finished they had their first cooking day. As Ms Bryant explains it:
“We set up tables in our hall. We all made the dough and while it was rising we split into 3 groups. Each group made a different part of the meal including three large green salads (produce from our garden) with different dressings, chocolate caramel bananas which were to be cooked on the embers and home made lemonade. Then we dressed the pizzas and cooked them in the oven. When they were ready we all sat down around the tables and ate our feast together! Some of the kids said that it was the best day of their life!”
Next they organised a Family night, a time to celebrate their success with family, the senior management team and all those who had contributed their help during the project.
It was a great evening. I found it quite magical watching the fire being lit and the dads cooking the pizzas, which the kids had filled, on the smoldering embers. And this was very fast food! Once they were in the oven it took only a very few minutes before they were ready. The bases were crisp, and topped with fresh veggies covered in melted cheese. They tasted delicious!
Just before dusk two of the boys took me for a conducted tour of the plot outside Room 14 which had been turned into their organic veggie garden. A great many veggies were competing for space and growing profusely, some in the soil, some in recycled containers. Justifiably proud of their efforts, the boys identified each of the veggies and how they were cared for and used. Although still young, they were already confident gardeners, ready to plant and take over the family veggie plot.
Meadowbank School has long had a strong environmental programme and is a pilot school in the Garden to Table project inspired by Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Project in Australia. This well known Australian cook began to worry that kids had lost touch with the soil and didn’t really know where food bought in packets and jars originally came from. She wanted them to learn how to make delicious meals from veggies they had grown themselves, and to enjoy eating these together. With the support of a charitable foundation, and a sizeable government grant, kitchen gardens are growing in many primary schools in the state of Victoria.
Catherine Bell, the Editorial Director of Dish Magazine, realizing that many kiwi kids were also not learning basic cooking skills or sitting around the table for family meals, spearheaded the Garden to Table Project. A trust was set up, and enough money raised to establish pilot programmes in three Auckland schools at the beginning of 2009. With more widespread support from businesses, local communities and through government grants this valuable project could spread throughout New Zealand.
Room 14 is not the only class at Meadowbank School engaged in environmental programmes. The school has built other gardens, a greenhouse and a hydroponic system, making good use of recycled materials.
But they are an exceptionally enterprising class and their enthusiasm for sustainable living is boundless! They are continuing to fire up the pizza oven, and now also want to hire it out to families so the school can make money from it. I’m looking forward to keeping in touch and seeing what they get up to next!