On the morning of the 1^st of September, officially the first day of spring, the grade 11s arrived, pick and shovel in hand, to board the bus for the Kolobe tented camp 20 km south of Polokwane.

We failed to leave at the scheduled time of 6h00 owing to the eternal teenage girl problem of carrying two weeks' worth of luggage for a one week trip. How's a girl to know when enough is enough and what sort of clothing crisis one can run into? One must always be well prepared. The added luggage posed a significant problem which the bus driver solved by reserving the front seats for luggage. Thank goodness for Mrs Rendall who had offered her trailer to carry the gardening tools, seedlings and requirements for the Subiaco leg of our trip.

Finally, we were all packed and accounted for and we were on our way. Mrs Nott drove ahead to prepare the tented camp for our arrival. She arrived at the Kolobe Protea Hotel camp and an anxious wait ensued when through telephonic contact with Mrs Morkel and Mrs Ring it was ascertained that the bus driver was on his way to a different camp site, having taken an early turn off the N1. Following numerous calls and directions and many, "Where are you now?" questions the bus was safely directed to the correct camp site.

We were met by bow tied waiters ready to serve our afternoon tea and beautifully made up beds with animal print bedding and our little soaps, handcream, shampoo and conditioner placed neatly on the beds. The large tents accommodated 8-10 beds and were beautifully draped, well lit with access to power points for our hairdryers. Luckily we had predetermined the sleeping arrangements so everyone knew exactly where to go and the settling in occurred quickly and without too much shrieking.

After tea we were introduced to our facilitators and the leadership training started in earnest. We were joined by Mr Fineberg and Mrs Duncan.  Two days of intense theoretical discussions about personal characteristics and strengths, shared goals and the role of the committees and Matrics in 2010 followed. As is customary on most camps, the obstacle course presented itself as an exercise in testing co-operation and team spirit. We were presented with some challenging physical and mental exercises where ingenuity ranked high in the success rate. Mr Fineberg's assistance at one of the obstacles was quietly and most gratefully accepted in order to avoid the blistered hands that a previous contestant had suffered.

The Kolobe Camp is home to a Famous movie star - Aslan, the lion, from the movie adaptation of C.S. Lewis's "The Chronicle's of Narnia". Sadly, he is now an aging lion having reached the ripe old age of 27 years. He does, however, remain a most imposing creature.

The camp site is situated close to the breeding/training camp for "tame" lions. We were treated to a show where the lions jumped for their food and also climbed trees. The little cubs were really cute and called forth many, "ohh...sweet," and "ahh, shame" comments from the girls.

Thursday morning saw a flurry of activity as we tried to force the previously neatly pressed and ironed clothing into a bag that seemed to have shrunk over the past two days.

The trip now went to the Subiaco Mission Station where we were to continue the service learning work we had initiated last year.

There was comfort in arriving in familiar surroundings and the primary pupils ran out to greet us as did the pupils from St Bede's. In no time at all, we were settled and ready to start work.

After our work here last year, we had conducted a needs analysis and it became clear that in this environment water is a premium, so beautifully lush green gardens did not exist. The ground is red, hard, dry  and dusty and very little grows without intensive nurturing.

Research on the net delivered a "water wise garden concept" where circular beds of a metre in diameter and 60cm deep are dug. A 2 litre cool drink bottle with 16 needle point holes is embedded in the bed and filled with water. The water is slowly released through these holes into the bed which is prepared by layering mulch, soil and compost up to the neck of the bottle. The water in this bottle should be sufficient to keep the bed moist for a week. Evaporation is reduced since the cap is kept on and the watering occurs below the surface.

We had thought we would have to dig holes for the beds but Sister Catherine, in her wisdom, had realised the ground would be too hard for us to tackle and so she had instructed Herman, the gardener, to prepare the holes for us. We had to simply check the dimensions, which were perfect, and start the process of collecting mulch and layering the soil, mulch and compost to prepare the beds.

We planted a good variety of vegetables - cabbage, beetroot, marrows, carrots, spinach and tomatoes. We hope some if not all of them will take.

It was particularly interesting for us to join St Bede's for their outside Spring Day assembly. Teachers were wearing school uniform and pupils were in civvies in honour of the day. This resulted in much hilarity, fun and laughter.

The pupils were most interested in the project and the headmaster agreed to postpone a Mathematics test in order for the pupils to join us in our gardening project. The pupils have promised to check on the progress of the vegetables and to keep the bottles filled with water.  Sister Catherine confirms that the St Bede's Eco Committee is religious in meeting this promise.

We left the mission station with a sense of accomplishment and a learning experience, which is easy to implement in our gardens at home. The greening of our environment and being conscious of our carbon footprint is a major focus for the 21^st century. We must all consider ways to conserve our natural resources.

We look forward to planning our project for 2010 which will consider more interaction with the pupils of St Bede's High School and consider ways to assist the community with their need for mastering of the English language.