Posted: 03 April 2007
$15,000 NRC environmental funding available to schools
A $15,000 special annual award that aims to boost environmental education is up for grabs again – and Northland schools are being urged to get in quick to secure their slice of it.
The Northland Regional Council has set aside $15,000 for this year’s Environmental Curriculum Award, which aims to foster action in environmental education.
Regional Council Environmental Education Officer Susan Karels says schools are eligible for a maximum $2000 each from the fund, which must be spent educating children ‘in, about and for’ the region’s environment.
Mrs Karels says last year a record 20 schools shared funding for projects including a study of freshwater bug life, slashing trash and worm farming.
“These types of projects are extremely valuable and strengthen relationships between schools and their local communities. Projects can actively involve a wide variety of people with varying skills, from parents and grandparents to marae and local businesspeople.”
Mrs Karels says award winners demonstrate ways their schools are putting effort into sustainably managing Northland’s natural and physical resources, a key Northland Regional Council goal.
Northland schools should already have received fliers advertising the awards, however, application forms can also be downloaded from the Environmental Education section of the Council’s website www.nrc.govt.nz The website also includes details of previous award winners and their projects.
Completed applications need to be sent to the Council’s main office – Private Bag 9021, Whangarei 0140 - by 5pm Friday, 4 May 2007.