Countdown Growing for Good Grants

As part of our commitment to protect our precious environment, Countdown has now opened up its second round of Growing for Good grants.

Growing for Good was launched in 2018, and is designed to help foster our next generation of budding environmentalists, gardeners and conservationists.  Over the first two years, we were thrilled to provide $51,000 in funding for a range of cool little projects right across Aotearoa schools and early childhood centres.

We've funded a range of projects including installing beehives and chicken coops, building and improving fruit and vege gardens, investigating maramataka, growing Māori medicinal plants, and reducing food waste.

Round 2 Winners (in alphabetical order):

Best Start North Road (Invercargill)

  • Install a vegetable garden for the school and local community

Best Start Tawa (Wellington)

  • Plant a vegetable garden from unused space to help feed the children for lunch.

First Years Learning Centre (Whanganui)

  • Build a community garden and orchard to support the school menu and provide help feed food for local families.

Greenwood Kindergarten (Tasman)

  • Introduce an automated watering system for their garden

Hastings Intermediate (Hastings)

  • Learn about the tikanga of harakeke and the rongoā of Māori medicinal plants through the planting and harvesting of these

Hatea-a-Rangi School (Tokomaru Bay)

  • Build a chicken coop to house six chickens

Hikuai School (Coromandel)

  • Create a bee-friendly garden in preparation for beehives

Huia Range School (Manawatu)

  • Build a greenhouse to assist students gardening club and creating a compost

Kokatahi - Kowhitirangi (Hokitika)

  • Plant an orchard to help with school lunches

John Street Kindergarten (Waimate)

  • Install a worm farm and add to their current vegetable garden

Makara Model School (Wellington)

  • Build a chicken coop

Mangere Central School (Auckland)

  • Build a chicken coop 

Manurewa Playcentre (Auckland)

  • Plant a vegetable garden

Marewa Primary School (Hawkes Bay)

  • Protect and grow the vegetable gardens and orchard as well as building a community pantry

Opawa School (Christchurch)

  • Grow a fruit orchard

Otane School (Hawkes Bay)

  • Grow a fruit orchard

Pauatahanui School (Porirua)

  • Grow a food forest 

Portobello Kindergarten (Dunedin)

  • Plant a vegetable garden and wildlife friendly planting

Puaka Bush School (Whakatane)

  • Making a recycled greenhouse to develop the local native bush

Pukerua Bay School (Wellington)

  • Revitalisation of our native skink garden and restoration of our planting tables and storage benches in the community shade house

Pukete School (Hamilton)

  • Create water butt to collect rainwater for vegetable garden 

Rapaura School (Marlborough)

  • Supporting their native tree planting with mulch

Rosebank School (Auckland)

  • Native planting to increase local wildlife

Roslyn Maori Hill Playcentre (Dunedin)

  • Build a greenhouse to provide produce all year round

Rotokawa Primary (Rotorua)

  • Build a bee and insect friendly garden

St Patrick’s Te Awamutu (Te Awamutu)

  • Joining the Trees for Survival national programme

Tangowahine School (Dargaville)

  • Continue to enhance their native planting

Te Pā Harakeke o Te Awahou Inc (Manawatu)

  • Create a sensory garden

Te Pukeiti Early Childhood Centre (Te Kuiti)

  • Build a chicken coop

The CubbyHouse Napier Road (Palmerston North)

  • Build a chicken coop to help reduce food waste

Tiddlywinks Preschool Ltd (Ashburton)

  • Install a beehive

Timaru South School (Timaru)

  • Grow fruits to feed the school’s breakfast club four days a week

Victory Primary School (Nelson)

  • Set up a compost system for the school

West Rolleston Primary School (Christchurch)

  • Extend the vegetable garden and create a native tree area