After nearly two years of planning and fundraising, Taruna College in Hawke's Bay recently opened the National Centre for Biodynamic and Organic Education, a purpose-built classroom sited at the Hohepa farm.

The building, the Christeller Room, was made possible through our good fortune to receive an unexpected legacy from the estate of Gert Christeller, who had a deep interest in both biodynamics and education. Gert’s son Michael and daughter Fiona both spoke at the official opening and shared with the audience their great fondness and respect for their father. They described how on the morning of the day that he died, that he announced that he wanted to leave money for biodynamics and education – and now to be at the opening of this biodynamic learning centre is such a wonderful manifestation of their fathers wishes.

Some years ago Gert Christeller had made a copper dodecahedron (a geometric spherical shape consisting of twelve pentagons) which he intended to be placed under a classroom as part of a foundation ceremony. At the opening each guest was invited to briefly hold the dodecahedron while giving good thoughts towards the building and those who will use it, they then signed a paper containing a house blessing verse and this was then placed inside the dodecahedron which now resides in the ground under the middle of the classroom.