living landscapes Archives - Page 5 of 7 - Enviroschools Marlborough

June 29, 2020

Harvest time for students

Autumn is harvest-time in our school's edible gardens: a time to marvel at what we grew and to enjoy some tasty garden treats! Grovetown School had a group cooking session using fruit from their orchard to make blackberry and apple tarts for the whole school. Laden trees of plums, apples and pears ensured they shared their mahi and kai with the wider school community. A bumper crop of late potatoes was the harvest highlight at Picton School. Using the tuakana-teina buddy system, older students introduced new children to the garden while digging potatoes. It was a great way to teach how to safely use the garden tools, but it soon became less about the tools...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

December 20, 2019

Enviroschools stories

Hands-on learning about photosynthesis

At Witherlea School, the Term 3 inquiry topic was science: the perfect fit for gardening which is all about science. Students investigated photosynthesis: the process that plants use to make their food. The children learnt why the leaves are so important. They are mini food factories! The leaves use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make sugar which gives the plants the energy they need to grow. Chlorophyll is the amazing compound that mixes the ingredients to make the sugar. The whole process takes place just under the surface of the leaves in the chloroplasts. They found that the process of photosynthesis is not only important for the plants but also for us: this is because...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

December 19, 2019

Enviroschools stories

Blenheim School: Kaitiaki for the awa

Tamariki at Blenheim School have been thinking about how they care for a place that is very special to their school: The Taylor River. The Envirogroup got together to think about kaitiakitanga, and talked about all of the different kaitiaki that care for the Taylor awa. These include ātua (e.g.: Tangaroa and Tamanuiterā), taonga species (e.g. tuna | eels), iwi/mana whenua, council, and community members. The students discovered that they can be kaitiaki for the awa too, as the more kaitiaki the awa has, the healthier the awa will be! They all had loads of examples of why the river is special to them. It turns out that they have already been doing some things...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

December 18, 2019

Enviroschools stories

Learning about the humble spud

What do you get when you cross an elephant with a potato? MASHED POTATO! Term 3 is a popular time of year in the Kids Edible Gardens. For most children participating, they are chitting (sprouting) potatoes, eagerly waiting to plant them into buckets for class potato growing competitions or planting into their garden beds. There is a lot of discussion as to how they will cook them: mashed with butter and cheese, roasted with summer herbs, added to boiled eggs as a salad or simply boiled with mint and eaten with lots of dipping butter! The most excitement, however, is digging them up before leaving school for their long summer holiday. There is, of course, much...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

December 16, 2019

Enviroschools stories

Student artwork by the Taylor River

Student artwork will soon grace some of the entrances to Blenheim's Taylor River. Some of the Springlands Go MAD (Make a Difference) students came up with an idea to design artwork with messages to remind people to take care of special reserves in our region. The students displayed all the artwork in the staffroom window and then asked the school to vote on their six favourites. The MDC reserves team kindly turned these six artworks into signs that will be displayed on some of the entrances to the Taylor River. This was an exciting project that was totally developed by students with a bit of support. Look out for the signs when you are next...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

September 12, 2019

Enviroschools stories

Canvastown kids explore their Living Landscape

The kids at Canvastown School have been fully absorbed in discovering what creatures live in the school’s wild places this year. They have poked under logs and in tree-stumps, crawled through long grass, shaken the branches of trees and picked through the edible gardens, seeking out all manner of living things. They used the Living Landscapes kit to take a closer look at the birds, bugs, plants and fungi, finding names for them and learning about their interesting habits. Angela visited and helped them with some activities from Tiro One One - our Marlborough living landscapes resource.

We flipped over a tree trunk and found heaps of insects on the bottom. - Finn Wendy from...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

September 10, 2019

Enviroschools stories

Students have their say on NZ’s biodiversity plan

St Mary's Envirogroup students submit on NZ's biodiversity strategy. Can you imagine what our world would look like if there was only one type of tree or bird or one type of apple to eat? The children in St Mary’s Envirogroup didn’t want to imagine that type of environment. Healthy biodiversity is important to them. They know that Aotearoa New Zealand’s biodiversity is amazing! About 90 % of our insects, 80 % of trees, ferns and flowering plants, 25 % of bird species, all 60 reptiles, 4 frogs and 2 bats are found nowhere else on earth. The current Government strategy on biodiversity is 20 years old and expires in 2020. The Department of Conservation is putting...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

July 23, 2019

General

Sustainable Action Ideas | Term 3 2019

Looking for some ideas or inspiration for teaching in Term 3? Take a look at our list of ideas - there's something for everyone! Tracking tunnels & traps: DOC have confirmed 2019 as the biggest mast event in 40 years. The rats, mice and mustelids are fat and breeding prolifically. It’s the perfect time to track what is living in or around your school, set up a trapline, or visit a local trapping programme. Take a look at our ‘Animal Pests’ resources here, and look at this workshop that DOC is running later this term for beginner trappers. In the garden: it’s a good term for learning about the soil and worms! Visit...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

living landscapes Tag