SCHOOL FORESTRY

Evening Star, Issue 19229, 21 April 1926, Page 4

SCHOOL FORESTRY

FOtHATKW DF PLAHTATIOHS

THE SCHEME OF OPERATIONS

WORK IN OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND.

Sir H. Roche (officer in charge of tlio State Forest Department exhibit in the New Zealand Government Pavilion) spoke very interestingly on school forestry activities in the course of an interview with a ‘ Star ’ representative yesterday. “In Dunedin and some parts of Otago,” said Mr Roche, “small plots of trees have during past years formed part of the crops included in the trial plots formed during instruction in agricultural and nature study subjects, and it will bo of interest to see how this initial effort is now part of a dominion-wide scheme for promoting and sustaining a forestry interest among the school children. During the last two seasons the Forest Service has teen co-operating with Hie Education Department on this subject by providing free seed and a certain number of free trees to schools unable to raise their own stock, with tho result that during the 1925 season progress has been made as follows:—Schools forming nurseries in North Island, 247; in South Island, 271 (of these 60 were in Otago and 82 in Southland). The stock raised from these school nurseries was used to plant up school grounds, or taken home and planted in shelter belts by the pupils. SPIRIT OP TEAM WORK.

“ Tbo second stage has now been reached, when the formation of school plantations must bo tackled. Tbo scheme would bo worked somewhat on the following linos, and would require tbo co-operation of educational and local bodies, and the interest and support of local opinion. By arrangement with Government or local bodies, an area of land accessible to the school or schools in question would be mad© over as a school forestry endowment area, fenced and prepared with the help of local supporters, and planted by the scholars with frees grown in file school nurseries. The area would be a, continual object lesson for succeeding pupils, who would take their part in raring for the tree crop, nnd it need not Ire large-sufficient to provide one nr two acres for planting each year for five or ten years. Financial returns would ammo to the schools who planted and tended the trees, and would bo of a, sufficiently substantial nature to dear all costa and probably give a profit to be devoted to the improvement of such schools. Financial returns, however, would be of small importance compared with the spirit of comnniiml co-operation and achievement, and the development of the forest sense in the minds of the school children. HANDSOME OTAGO SHIELD. “To encourage and increase the quality of forestry interest shown in schools, schools forestry competitions have been promoted, in connection .jnth winter shows, and last year twenty schools in tho North Island competed at the South Taranaki Winter Show, Hawera, and at tho Waikato Winter Show in Hamilton. During the coming year school competitions are being arra'tmcd, in addition, at tho Manawatu Winter Show and Auckland Winter Exhibition. Shields were presented ns trophies, for these competitions last vear hy Mr G. Symes at the South Taranaki Show, by Messrs Ellis am, Ihirnand at the Waikato Winter Show, and by tho Wellington Timber Merchants’ Association at tho Wellington Winter Show, and for this year’s Winter ShW at Dunedin a handsome shield has been presented by tbo Otago Brush Co. Subsidiary educational prizes have been presented by the State I'orest Service to schools winning shields, and also to the school in each agricultural instructor’s district showing the greatest all-round interest in forestry during the last year. These prizes were in the form of framed photographs or forest subjects, and of sets of native timber.specimens enclosed in a woocien case.

APPRECIATION OF NATIVE BUSH,

“It is very desirable that preciation of tho native hush should he further developed among the present school generation, and, whenever possible, schools are encouraged to. plant specimens of native species in their borders. etc. The State Forest Service has during the last season distributed plants for this purpose, but it is hoped that schools will, wherever possible, procure their own specimens, either by exchange with other schools, or by raising" from seed collected by the scholars themselves. Ibis latter method is to bo aimed at wherever possible, as it provides greater opportunity for the study of bush hie. By courtesy of the Education Department, a forestry exchange column has been funned in the ‘ Educational Gazette, ami teachers are urged to make use or this as much as possible for tbo exchange of items of school forestry interest. and for actual exchange ol seeds and plants between dissimilar regions. Queries should be forwarded direct to the editor by the beginning of each month. The ‘ School . Journal ’ publishes periodically articles of forestry interest which are read by the scholars, nnd information on forestry of interest to teachers is published in the ‘ Educational Gazette.’ Recently conferences of inspectors and agricultural instructors have been bold in conjunction with the State Forest Service at Rotorua and Hamner Springs Nurseries, when matters relating to the further progress of forestry interest in schools during the coming year have been discussed. “Seed for sowing in school nurseries is given free by tho State. Forest Service, and should ho applied for only through the agricultural instructors in each district. As it is desired to increase tho educational value of raising of stock from seed by the scholars themselves, tbo supply of trees to •schools will be in future limited, to those schools which have no means of making seed hods, and to the supply of a limited number of specimens of native trees nnd shrubs. “ ARBOR DAY.”

“The co-operation of all teachers, education boards, and those interested is asked in stirring up interest in the celebration of Arbor Day. This now is hold on no fixed dale, as climatic differences made this arrangement unworkable, but each education district can arrange to carry out the planting of trees or some method of celebrating this day during the period most suitable to local conditions.

“ Reports from education boards throughout the dominion show that a decided increase in forestry interest has been aroused by the raising of both native and cvotic trees by school children, both among scholars themselves, their parents, and among local residents. One school—Pok'eno—reports that it has disposed of its stock this year to interested farmers, but nest rear expects to start a plantation of its" own; while the school possesses at present an arboretum in the school grounds containing 100 species—73 native and 27 exotic. The Wood hill School Committee has fenced off an area of hillside near the school _ for planting this season. In Otago sixtylive schools have started school tree nurseries. Southland reports a start in 134 schools in raising trees for, afforestation, while Canterbury and Wellington have worked iu the ’ tree interest, and thus increased their existing agricultural plots. The year 1925-26 was a most successful one for forestry in schools, but a sustained public interest in this important branch of the education of ‘Young New Zealand is most necessary for the future development of a universal forest conscience throughout the dominion. Appreciation is duo to the agricultural instruc-

tors, who have worked enthusiastically to arouse interest and to produce splendid results from this scheme.”