This is the proposal for a school project that was actually made operational in Mangere East, Auckland, New Zealand long before any of us ever bothered to write down what it did, why it works, or what it could become.

The proposal addresses some of those issues and lists many of the things that one would need to know, consider and acquire to get started. These are brief, general guidelines that happened to suit this specific school environment.

A clever mind and passionate heart will find many ways to alter whatever they need from these guidelines to suit their own purposes and situation.

This model fits many shapes and sizes large and small, rich and poor of all colours, creeds, religions and affections and it’s a bargain! Nature is so welcoming, forgiving and healing.

A key factor is flexibility and a personal commitment to the knowledge that this will work with God and Nature’s blessings (Papatuanuku) if you open up to new ways and better days remembering all the while what made us all great from the start.

With loving guidance and appropriate supervision, give this project to the children to construct, control and claim for it is their generation who will bring the ‘Kingdom come to Earth as it is in Heaven’.

They instinctively know this and await impatiently for every opportunity to bring this dream into being if only you would let them. Already they are planting their future now!

Happy gardening,

Dale Harvey