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Environmental Action in Education

This award recognises environmentally-focused projects in education. Judges are looking for projects/action that engage students in environmental learning and empower them to make a difference. This award is specific to schools, kura kaupapa Māori, early childhood centres or tertiary institutions. Whole schools/learning centres, groups or individuals are eligible for this award.

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Hedgehope School is involved in a fascinating ‘Forest School’ project in Sherwood Forest at Tussock Creek, a privately owned, nationally significant rare ecosystem protected by a QEII covenant. Students engage with the natural world, learning about the flora, fauna, bugs and freshwater science. They are very active in driving this project, setting their own direction of inquiry and projects within the broader project.

Aspects of the curriculum are carefully incorporated into ‘Forest School’ so kids also learn other skills such as supporting one another, and communicating what they learn through the ‘Sherwood Sharp’ YouTube news show. The project includes collecting data on trap performance and investigating how to improve this, and building skills to operate in the natural world safely and with confidence.

Regular Sherwood Forest visits are a highlight for students who have developed an increasing love of the forest. In this short time they have re-activated predator control efforts, cleaned up interpretation signs, undertaken two ‘Bioblitzes’, and much more. The kids are learning that nature is not separate from us. Their focus on recycling and reusing also includes a community shop at school selling second-hand goods.

The school is thankful to the Sherwood landowners, previously Nan and Rod Sinclair and now Irene and Grant Given, who allow the school access to their property for the project.

St Teresa’s School in Bluff is a small school with a big heart. As an Enviroschool they are on a journey of environmental sustainability, not only for their school, but also their wider community.

They have been involved in projects such as predator reduction and restoration planting on Motupōhue/Bluff Hill. At school they have a vegetable garden, fruit trees and a chicken coop. From these areas they collect fresh produce and eggs and use them at school or share them with the nearby community. The students are actively involved and this is not only teaching them the skills needed to help them create a sustainable life in the future, but also teaching them about manaakitanga and the benefits of caring for a community as a whole.

The students have also been part of restoration planting on the school site and have a worm farm, which they use the juice from in their gardens. Preservation of cultural heritage is important to the students of St Teresa’s. There is also strong parent support, with expert demonstrations and frequent visits to the school, along with help and support from experts in the Bluff community.

The students’ hope is to ensure the environmental viability of their area and its flora and fauna, not only for the current generation, but future generations too.

Elsie Street Kindergarten encourages and empowers tamariki to drive their environmental journey. With a strong sense of interconnectedness, they are committed to their Enviroschool mahi. They have been making strong links with their whakapapa through te purakau o Matamata (the taniwha Matamata that now forms the profile of the Hokonui Hills), their local legend. This connection has been further enhanced through their relationship with the Eastern Southland Kahui Ako (community of learning) and the waiata ‘Maruawai Kotahitaka’, which tells about the whakapapa of the Mataura Valley. This becomes even more meaningful with their weekly taiao tūhura (nature discovery) programme at Dolamore Park. They are also learning about pest trapping from Hokonui Rūnanga.

Tamariki are mindful of resources and creating less waste or repurposing things they already have, for example making briquettes from waste paper and a sharing table for the community to give away things no longer needed. They have a water collection system that has been donated and installed by whānau to learn about water conservation and make connections to atua Ranginui. They were supported by the wider community in raising funds for a tunnel house, allowing them to learn about te taiao (the natural world) and sustainability through food sources, with the aim to grow, cook, and share kai with the community. They are providing an environment for tamariki to belong and participate, be decision-makers and active environmental citizens.

Halfmoon Bay School students are experiencing outdoor education to the max, and in the process are learning to appreciate and look after their unique environment.

The Stewart Island/Rakiura school has been an Enviroschool since 2012, with students exposed to a wide range of activities across different locations on the island. These activities include exploring and identifying the wide range of fungi on the island, and the setting up, checking and maintenance of a rat-trapping line. A rat-trapping competition saw students catch more than 600 rats, garnering them international media attention. They work closely with Stewart Island/Rakiura Community & Environment Trust on penguin monitoring and operate a kura kai garden within the school grounds, producing food for school events.

Students have enjoyed educational trips to Ruapuke Island, Ulva Island and Port William among others. They undertake a wide range of activities through environmental education, including Tītī Island social science investigation, whitebait mahi, helping check trap lines on Ulva Island, a survival ocean swim, freshwater kayaking, tramping, an overnight bivvy stay, foraging and hunting for kai, litter intelligence on the beaches and track maintenance with Department of Conservation.

Students and teachers are immersed in the activities, are well supported by the community, and are making valuable community connections and helping to ensure their sustainability into the future.

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