Enviroschools is a whole-school approach to environmental education. It encourages student-driven action, based on sustainable management of resources in several key areas of school life.
The Northland Regional Council played a key role in bringing Enviroschools north in 2003 and there are now more than 30 local schools in the programme, which began in 1993 and now includes more than 560 schools nationally.
Teresa Rudgley, an Environmental Education Officer with the Regional Council, says the Enviroschools Awards are now in their third year in Northland. “The awards effectively recognise the whole school community, which includes students, teachers, non-teaching staff, trustees and local members of the public.” Ms Rudgley says there are three levels of awards; ‘bronze’, ‘silver’ and the highest, seldom-awarded ‘green-gold’. This year silver is once again the highest local honour to be awarded.
Four schools will receive silver awards; Okaihau College and Oromahoe School in the Far North District and Whangarei’s Kamo Intermediate and St Francis Xavier School.
Bronze awards will be presented to Riverview and Tautoro Schools in the Far North District, Whangaruru School and Kamo Primary in the Whangarei District and St Joseph’s School (Kaipara).
The NRC (which co-ordinates the Northland Enviroschools programme) and Ministry of Education advisory arm TEAM Solutions (which facilitates the programme in schools) will run the awards. The Wednesday, 3 December event will be hosted by Whangarei’s Hurupaki School, a 2006 Enviroschools Awards’ silver winner.
MEDIA NOTE: A list of schools to receive awards – and a brief overview of their projects – is included below:
Far North:
Silver awards;
Okaihau College: Has an active student Envirogroup which has raised funds for a range of projects including edible gardens, tui flax garden, hanging baskets. Teachers include unit studies on environmental topics in subjects as diverse as film studies, art and technology with students working on garden sculpture, biodiversity, coastal erosion and recycling. Class groups have assisted with restoration work around Lake Omapere.
Contact: Lynn Couling-Brown, ph (09) 401 9030
Oromahoe School: Has projects at all class levels. Senior students are creating an outside classroom, have a community organic garden and orchard and are negotiating to enhance a neighbouring wetland. Younger students are involved in growing vegetables, recycling, butterfly gardens, shoe garden art, medicinal plant studies and are learning about wetlands and pukeko.
Contact: Pauline Stephinson ph (09) 407 7834
Bronze awards;
Riverview School: Has focussed on reducing waste paper across the school. Students are responsible for composting organic material and have planned projects to improve their own ‘Big Backyard’. To date they have planned for - and helped install - a new sandpit and created zany mushroom garden sculptures. The school now has edible gardens (created with the assistance of NorthTec) and has taken part in unit studies in a range of environmental topics.
Contact: Tanya Sainsbury ph (09) 407 7277
Tautoro School: Staff have worked together to involve the whole school in projects to reduce waste. Each class focussed on different materials to recycle. Students have been involved in developing edible gardens and a worm farm. The school’s student envirogroup has created a vision for future projects.
Contact: Meri Pera ph (09) 401 1486
Whangarei District:
Silver awards;
Kamo Intermediate: ‘Islands of Life’ project has been developed over a number of years. It involves extensive gardens incorporating native plantings to encourage birds and also features endangered and rare natives, art work and a water feature. Students have created edible gardens, worm farms and the whole school incorporates unit studies on sustainability subjects.
Contact: Jan O’Connor ph (09) 435 0343
St Francis Xavier School: Continues to care for its local waterway, with plans to extensively plant its banks. The school is involved in classroom studies in recycling and endangered species and is incorporating environmental studies into its programme.
Contact: Lynn Douglas ph (09) 437 1039
Bronze awards;
Kamo Primary: Students have been involved in a joint project ‘He Kakano’ where they learn to propagate native plants to help restore a local river. This year has seen the enhancement of the school’s native garden. Teachers have included unit studies on energy efficiency, zero waste, worm farming.
Contact: Karwyn Werder ph (09) 435 1482
Whangaruru School: Has been involved in creating constructed edible gardens and is planning an orchard. It has also been involved in a community planting project at Mimiwhangata and reintroduced a zero waste programme.
Contact: Delwynn Simon ph (09) 433 6520
Kaipara District:
Bronze award;
St Joseph’s School: Over the past two years, students have been involved in a range of projects including growing vegetables, reducing waste, worm farms, beautification of school grounds and unit studies on the topics of seasons, exotic pests and climate change.
Contact: James Nyssen ph (09) 439 8639