Nature Connection “Research shows that the closer we get to nature, the happier we are, the more worthwhile life seems, and the more we are willing to take action to help our wildlife and the environment”. - Nature Connection Handbook Several Schools and Kindergartens in Marlborough have been embedding Nature Connection experiences into their programmes. Come and share ideas and be inspired. Location: Sheps Park RSVP to ramonamillen17@gmail.com by Monday, 26th of February, please advise of any dietary requirements. ...
Read More The children in Waihi class at Grovetown School have been investigating the health of the creek that runs alongside their school.
After the Grovetown School students first visit to observe the creek they felt pretty confident that it wasn’t in a very good state. But the children wanted some facts to back up what they saw. The children named the weed on top of the creek Frog Porridge.
Using the Enviroschools Stream Study Kit they measured the flow, temperature, and clarity of the water, before identifying the creatures that live in the creek. Unfortunately the only creatures they found were small snails. All their tests of the creek failed to meet healthy...
Read More A key aspect to the Enviroschools journey is reflection. “Reflection is an integral part of the learning cycle, helping us to make sense of our experiences, deepen our learning, and gain direction for the journey ahead”.
Renwick Kindergarten have been a Green Gold Enviroschols since 2019. Earlier this year they decided to reflect on their journey. They had completed all their “next steps” from their Green Gold reflection and felt it was time to identify some new ones. Renwick Kindergarten tamariki, John Leggett and Anne Best test out the new water access at Rousehill Reserve As their team reflected on the last four years it quickly became apparent the Enviroschools kauapapa is no...
Read More We’ll be revisiting the Enviroschools Journey with a virtual trip down the Wairau Awa. Your Envirogroup will reflect on what point they are at in their journey and together we will talk about how you could share your achievements sustainably.
RSVP to Angela by Fri 4 November
Please note she has a new email address – angela@wenties.nz...
Read More 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...
Read More Take a look at our list of ways that your students could take action towards sustainability this term.
Click here to link through to the list in our Enviroschools Marlborough google drive....
Read More 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...
Read More Students at Grovetown School have created a ‘bird scavenger hunt’ resource for use at Grovetown Lagoon.
Grovetown School has had a long-standing connection with the nearby lagoon, being involved in regular whole-school tree-planting days and hosting a shade house where lagoon volunteers propagate and grow native plant seedlings. This project was part of a student inquiry looking at connections with the local community and local places.
-
- Shadehouse at Grovetown School
-
- Grovetown Lagoon
-
- The ‘hide’ is a great place for bird-watching.
Students in Waverley class came up with the idea of creating a resource during a class visit to the lagoon when they photographed and observed the birds that they saw. Students worked in pairs to research one of the birds that they had seen and to make a...
Read More This term, kaiako from ECE centres taking part in an Enviroschools pilot attended a workshop and visited kindergartens to see the programme in action.
Four ECE centres are currently taking part in the pilot, and they visited two kindergartens that are very active in the Enviroschools programme: Seymour and Renwick. Renwick shared the pepeha, karakia and tiriti that they have developed to connect to their special places and values. Outside, they showed the group their strawberry walls and multi-purpose hut area. They also shared their learning around energy and the newly installed solar panels. Seymour showed the group their bike track, new composting area, butterfly house and the beautiful community-created mural that represents the things...
Read More 
