You can grow a surprise garden by collecting leaf litter, keeping it warm and moist and seeing what grows.
This is a great activity from Kiwi Conservation Club - Hakuturi Toa and is popular with ākonga of all ages.
The forest floor is covered in dead leaves, known as leaf litter, that rot down to help make soil. Leaves from the plants in the bush are always falling and making new layers of leaf litter. This leaf litter builds up over time and catches seeds and helps the seeds germinate from the trees above.
It’s best to start this investigation during July or August, when the floor of the ngahere is wet, but you could try it anytime. Be patient - it can take awhile for some seeds to start growing!
Click on the link above to visit the Kiwi Conservation Club website and download the PDF for this activity. An alternative to using plastic lunch wrap (as suggested) is to cut open clear bread bags or other plastic bags, which can be used more than once.
You can also check out KCC's other great resources, but clicking on Activities on their website and using the topic filters.
