Enviroschools stories Archives - Page 5 of 12

December 13, 2021

Kaitiaki at Fairhall School

Te Rūma Rātā and te Rūma Pōhutukawa - kaitiaki of birds and habitats at Fairhall School Whare wētā At the beginning of the year te Rūma Rātā and te Rūma Pohutukawa made a kaitiaki pledge to be guardians of birds and habitats at Fairhall School. We first set out to learn in particular about New Zealand birds, lizards and wētā so this could help inform how we could make a difference to their habitats around our school and local community. We also worked with local environmental educators and our Enviroschools facilitator to deepen our understanding of the native bush that is in our ngahere and what plantings might encourage more wildlife to...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

Linkwater School's sustainable outdoor classroom

December 10, 2021

Enviroschools stories

Linkwater School wins regional Lions award

Linkwater School is celebrating winning this year’s Lions Youth Environment Award for the upper South Island and West Coast region. Linkwater School is a small rural Green-Gold Enviroschool in the Marlborough region, so named because it sits between Tōtaranui/Queen Charlotte Sound and Keneperu Sound. Students and teachers at the school are passionate about their environment. Much of their curriculum is based on students’ learning about and taking action for sustainability, supported by their wider community. Linkwater School is also part of the Marlborough District Council's “Kids’ Edible Gardens” programme. Earlier this term Linkwater submitted their Sustainable Outdoor Classroom development to the Lions Youth Award for District 202E (upper South Island and West Coast) supported by the...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

November 29, 2021

Enviroschools stories

‘Save the fantail’ project

Grovetown School’s Waihi class has embarked on a special project this year to save the fantails in their school forest. Identify The project came about as part of an inquiry: ‘How is our place unique?’. The class began by exploring and learning about the native, endemic and introduced animals and plants in their school. During this exploration, some of the children found empty fantail nests which prompted thinking about why the nests might be empty. Some of the students’ ideas were: “rats have eaten them" - "it is too cold for the eggs and chicks so birds don't lay eggs in winter" - "the fantails think it’s too dangerous because of the rats and possibly stoats so they won't...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

October 1, 2021

Enviroschools stories

Kids’ Edible Gardens: benefits beyond gardening

We know that being outside connecting to nature in a green space is good for us: we feel refreshed and energised, but relaxed. Is the same true for children when participating in the Kids’ Edible Gardens (KEGs) programme? Absolutely! This is why, in a time when our children’s hauora (wellbeing) and mental health is so important, KEGs is a great resource for schools to have available for their students to participate in. Te Whare Tapa Whā model Te Whare Tapa Whā is a wonderful model that many of you will know of and have perhaps used in your classroom as a way of explaining what hauora means. Each part of a person’s hauora - their emotional, mental,...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

September 30, 2021

Enviroschools stories

Silver for Springlands Kindergarten

Springlands Kindergarten successfully reflected at Enviroschools Silver this term, the day before the national lockdown in August! It was fantastic to see all the great work that kaiako and tamariki have been doing at Springlands Kindergarten, especially linking to the Enviroschools guiding principle of Sustainable Communities. They are a green-fingered group and have been growing and making lots of things to share. We especially loved the relationship they have formed with a local rest home. They collected and made plum jam and then shared it with the residents at the rest home. How cool is that? There were some other clever sustainable ideas like homemade natural glitter, hand-dyed shirts using natural plant dyes and some special activities...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

September 30, 2021

Enviroschools stories

Butterfly house a special space

Seymour Kindergarten's new butterfly house has become a cherished space, with tamariki and kaiako benefiting from the opportunities it provides. The different life stages of monarch butterflies have long been an area of fascination for tamariki at Seymour Kindergarten, and kaiako have supported their learning in a variety of ways over the years. Their latest innovation has been the construction of an impressive butterfly house. Tamariki have experimented with different methods to find the best way to capture caterpillar eggs and transfer them into the butterfly house. They tried taking eggs from the swan plants outside and raising them inside before transferring them. Sometimes this was successful, however, it took a lot of work as...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

July 6, 2021

Enviroschools stories

Redwoodtown School flying high

It was hard to miss the enormous hot air balloon bobbing up and down above Redwoodtown School last month. The school was visited by the Flying High Charitable Trust, which aims to provide opportunities to inspire and guide young people towards a more sustainable future through its education programme and use of an innovative and positive approach. The hot air balloon created a real buzz and gave children a bird's eye view of their school and community, along with a broader perspective on some everyday problems. Students explored how they could use this different perspective to come up with innovative and practical solutions to problems such as our use of non-renewable energy and single-use plastics. What...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

Picton Kaitiaki group at Shakespeare estuary

July 6, 2021

Enviroschools stories

Kaitiaki group visit Shakespeare Bay

Picton School's Kaitiaki Group visited the Shakespeare Bay estuary for NZAEE Seaweek. Picton School's Kaitiaki group were invited by Port Marlborough in conjunction with Cawthron Institute to visit the Shakespeare Bay estuary as a focus for NZAEE Seaweek in March. The Kaitiaki group were smaller in stature and younger in age than usual as the group's senior students were away on camp. However, their levels of excitement and enthusiasm were just as high! The Kaitiaki group and Cawthron scientists, smiling in the rain! Despite the rainy day, scientists from Cawthron had set up a range of activities to help the group study the estuary. Anika, Dana and Robyn each took a group...

by Enviroschools Marlborough