Food and Nutrition - Year 12

By Emma Moore | Posted: Wednesday February 26, 2025

The Year 12 Food and Nutrition class went to Central Otago last week on what was dubbed as the inaugural 'Food Camp'.

The purpose of the trip was to look at local, seasonal produce then come back to school and start preserving. This all ties in with their first internal about sustainable food related practices.

Day 1 - The first stop was Marsh's Honey in Ettrick. Marsh’s are in their 91st year in the Honey and Beekeeping business. They were generous in their knowledge, passion, and time. The boys learned a lot about pollination and the importance of bees, particularly in the growing of our local stone fruit. We can't thank them enough for taking the time to host us.

We made the most of local stalls enroute, stopping at Fairview Orchard (Roxburgh) and Roberts Family Orchard (Earnscleugh). Real fruit ice creams, sunflowers, and getting on the local 'socials' were a highlight.

Day 2 - At Jackson Orchards, the boys got to tour the working orchard and got to 'pick their own' new season apples, plums, and the last of the peaches, nectarines, and apricots. This was an excellent tour, which is available to anyone. The ins and outs of how to run and maintain the orchard were interesting, informative, and fun. More fruit ice-creams were had and enjoyed.

Red Ridge Berries were our next host. 'Pick your own' strawberries and more real fruit ice creams. Situated at Luggate, the boys got to look at the range of food production here, from beef and micro-greens to watermelons.

Final day - To finish our trip, the boys got to spend the morning at Forest Lodge Orchard - Electric Cherries, the first fully electric orchard in the world. Sporting New Zealand's first electric tractor, the orchard generates the power to run its orchard and is proud to be a leader in zero emissions.

The theme throughout the trip was family, community, hard work and efficiency alongside a passion for quality food production. We were very appreciative of the time and knowledge given to us and are already looking forward to visiting again next year.

Boys had the opportunity to purchase fresh, local produce to bring back to school. Real fruit ice creams were the trips ‘go to’ and snacks on freshly picked fruit made for a clean and healthy alternative. This week we have made apricot jam and will be making plum sauce next week, with the idea of making the most of the abundant fruit at the end of its season.

Quotes – some high praise

“It was better than I thought it would be.” – Jack Muir & Angus Broderick

“It was good” – Huxley Jones

“Fun” Hector McCallum

“Fun learning experience” – Jackson McLennan

“Very social” – Grevel McFarland

“I learnt a lot” – Wade McClenaghan

“I lot of new experiences I hadn’t done before” – Kobie Sole