OKE

How We Create Change

OKE provide Kiwi kids the opportunity to learn life and social skills by introducing productive gardens into schools. By giving the kids the tools to learn, OKE are empowering schools and communities to grow essential life and social skills, ultimately providing a better place for everyone.

Growing A Future

OKE plans on implementing our “Growing A Future” initiative into schools across South Auckland over the next few years. Our starting point was Papatoetoe, Auckland and OKE has since built gardens right across South Auckland.

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Through Growing A Future, OKE deliver a garden to each school, enabling the kids, teachers and local community to get growing. The garden includes all that is required to make it sustainable; raised beds, greenhouse, composting solutions, kids tools, teacher tools, irrigation etc. Each Growing a Future project for a school costs $10,000 to put together from start to finish…at no cost to the school and is built by the community through an epic Oke Working Bee!

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The Benefits of Growing A Future

• Kids learn the mighty chip comes from a potato
• Kids become the teachers and show parents how to grow and use veggies at home
• By encouraging communities to come together and share skills, then the community as a whole benefits
• Providing a social platform where kids can just be kids and learn by getting down and dirty
• Increase life skills, increase levels of self-esteem / worth
• Give kids hands-on skills that they might potentially be interested in pursuing in life later on
• Give kids the opportunity to get outside and interact with each other
• Families learning / understanding how to provide / look after their own
• Children growing up healthy and strong with positive outlook / future
• Provide financial skills by turning produce from the garden into profitable sales, which fund a sustainable garden.

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"Gardening is learning, learning, learning. That’s the fun of them. You’re always learning.”
Helen Mirren