Avis Leeson, of Hamilton, QSM for services to horticultural education
Mrs Avis Leeson has donated her time to creating vegetable gardens and orchards at more than 300 schools in the Waikato region, and from Northland to Invercargill. In 2007, Mrs Leeson developed a project to teach children how to grow food. She initiated the project at her former primary school in Morrinsville and her gardens have since spread to schools from Karapiro to Hamilton North. Her project has reconnected children with the facts of how food is produced and has been sponsored entirely by businesses and staffed by volunteers. For health reasons she stepped down from active participation in 2014, with the project now continued through the Avis Leeson Fruit Tree Trust. Mrs Leeson continues to assist the Trust and is producing a gardening manual for the schools involved.