Tānemahuta, Rongomatāne and Tangaroa greet you at the entrance to Mayfield Kindergarten. These Pou represent the Kindergarten’s connection to their environment. The characteristics of these Atua underpin the learning priorities for the tamariki that attend. Kaiako and tamariki tiaki (care for) these atua and their wide spread environment, made up of the native gardens, mara kai, a rocky awa and open spaces.
Mara kai has been the focus over the last 6 months for kaiako, tamariki and Joy, their gardener. Joy spends 3 hours a week at Mayfield Kindergarten. During this time she empowers the tamariki to be hands on and involved in the garden. Together they sow seeds, plant seedlings, pull out weeds,...
Read More Diversity in Nature
Wednesday 8 November, 3.30 - 5 pm Waikawa Bay School Wairau Marlborough is one of five centres of biodiversity in Aotearoa. We are so lucky to have a high number of endemic plant and animal species that only exist here in Wairau. We will explore what biodiversity is and how you can assess the biodiversity of your school, local waterway or green space using Enviroschools activities as well as community and national initiatives. The students from Waikawa Bay School will join us to share their mahi on trapping as we investigate the issues impacting our precious species. There will be time to link what you have learnt to inquiry topics and the Enviroschools Action Learning Cycle. As...
Read More Join us for coffee and cake as we unpack our Enviroschools kits and get hands on with some practical activities that you can take back to your classroom.
We have several kits available to borrow that have all the resources you need to explore the Enviroschools theme areas of Water of Life, Zero Waste, Living Landscapes and Ecological Buildings. We also have a Beeswax Wrap kit that has all you need for making beeswax wraps. Thursday 10th August 2023 3.30 – 5pm Join us from 3.15pm for coffee and cake Venue to be confirmed Email ramonamillen17@gmail.com to register...
Read More This year we have access to some funds through Enviroschools from the 1 Billion Trees Fund. Through this fund we have been able to help Waikawa Bay School purchase trees to plant and restore the stream that they have been successfully trapping for a number of years.
Angela, one of our Environmental Educators worked alongside some of the Waikawa Bay School students involved in the trapping and replanting project to identify which trees would be the most suitable to plant and encourage birds to return to the area. Names of plants are important especially for trees with large numbers of species and varieties such as Comprosma and Pittosporum. A name can tell you how tall...
Read More Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to make time outdoors part of every child’s day. On two days of action each year, teachers take children outdoors to play and learn. All year round, the Outdoor Classroom Day community campaigns for more time outdoors every day....
Read More An Enviroschools Action Fund makes the Wairau Valley school Enviro Teams dream a reality last year. The plan was to create a native corridor for native birds. The team researched what type of plants native birds like and also discussed the flowering times of
different native plants to provide food through out the year. It was a great practical activity and the students really enjoyed mucking in. ...
Read More Healthy bird populations can indicate that the environment is healthy. We know lots about endangered native birds in the bush, but we don’t always know what’s happening in the populations of all the birds around us, particularly in urban and garden environments. That’s why we need you to help us count them. https://gardenbirdsurvey.nz...
Read More Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and held annually on 5 June since 1973, World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world. In 2023, it is hosted by Côte D'Ivoire. https://www.un.org/en/observances/environment-day...
Read More Arbor Day is April 28, 2023. Mark the occasion by participating in a local planting event in your area, walking in a local park and appreciating everything trees do for us, or making a donation to have more trees planted in areas where they're needed most. New Zealand celebrates Arbor Day on June 5, which is also World Environment Day. https://www.arborday.org...
Read More The 2023 International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) theme is truly a collaborative and international effort. This year, we teamed up with the International Compost Alliance (ICA) to select: For Healthier Soil, Healthier Food…Compost! The theme was chosen based on a serious world-wide issue that every nation, unfortunately, experiences: hunger. https://www.compostfoundation.org/ICAW/ICAW-Home...
Read More 
