Term 1 2018 Te Tai Poutini Enviroschools Newsletter
Nau mai, haere mai
I hope you all had wonderful breaks over the summer and are feeling refreshed as you kick-start the 2018 school year.
It is with my utmost excitement to welcome Sarah Harvey to the role of Buller Enviroschools Facilitator. Many of you will know Sarah already as she has worked with many schools along the Coast. She comes with a wealth of experience and you can read more about her in her introduction.
With lots of new staff and whanau on board for 2018, make sure you forward this newsletter to them and encourage them to sign up to our newsletter.
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Naku noa,
Zoe Watson
Enviroschools West Coast Regional Coordinator & Facilitator
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New Facilitator for Buller
Sarah will begin meeting and working with Buller Schools this term. Here’s a wee introduction from Sarah.
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"I am originally from the UK & have been living in Aotearoa for 15 years. I have had the privilege to spend the last 10 years on the beautiful wild West Coast. I have worked as a Health Promoter for the past 7 years, working particularly around mental wellbeing & healthy relationships. I practice mindfulness & yoga, & also teach mindfulness in schools. I am currently studying the Jade & Hard Stone Carving course at Tai Poutini Polytechnic.
I try to live sustainably and am excited at the prospect of learning more in this space within the Enviroschools kaupapa. I believe in soulful living and part of my personal mindful practice involves a deep sense of connection to this beautiful planet that we live upon, and I am passionate about protecting our future. I am also passionate about being a positive role model for children and young people, and embodying the care and compassion that I teach in mindfulness."
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Barrytown on Board
Due to an increase in funding from Grey District Council we’re able to welcome Barrytown School to the Programme. We look forward to working with you.
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Holistic Reflections:
Towards the end of 2017, several West Coast Enviroschools underwent holistic reflections. A holistic reflection is a process to consider the past, present and future of their Enviroschools journey. The school community considers how they got to where they are, what changes have been made, and how this informs their next steps. Congratulations Granity School (Bronze), St Canice’s School (Bronze) and Kidsfirst Karoro Kindergarten (Silver) for reaching significant milestones in your Enviroschools journey.
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St Canice’s Eco Warriors with their Bronze Certificate
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Granity Schools’ Envirogroup
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Scarecrow Tim helping Kidsfirst Karoro celebrate their Silver milestone.
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Census
We'd like to say a big thank you to our Enviroschools for completing the National Enviroschools Census last term. The West Coast had a 100% response rate! It is such a valuable reflection tool and it’s exciting to see your visions and plans for 2018 being guided by the conversations and goals that arose from the process. The data is being analysed now and the official information will be available in March.
‘Enviroschools has probably been the best vehicle to get whanau and community involvement in our Kindy’
- Mary-Rose O’Loughlin, Westport Kindergarten
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Enviroschools Teachers Google Drive
This Google Drive is organised by the stages of the Enviroschools process. You’ll find great examples of planning templates, case studies, activities for the classroom, and resources to support staff and envirogroup meetings. All key teachers were emailed the link at the end of 2017 so please get in contact with Zoe if you would like access.
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Enviroschools Resources Available Online
The national team have uploaded separate low-res PDF files of each section of the Enviroschools kit to the teachers area on the Enviroschools website.
Make sure your colleagues are aware that this now replaces the CD of the kit that used to come glued to the inside cover of the kit (and often got lost).
You can also now download the Theme Area divider files in the member’s area. They look wonderful enlarged to A3 or even A2 size and are great for engaging students and kaiako in each theme and ngā Mātāpono.
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Enviroschools West Coast Pamphlet
This informative Enviroschools West Coast pamphlet has been in the pipeline for quite some time. We are looking for funding to get some printed, but in the interim you can access the file in the Google Drive under admin.
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Share with your whanau and community by loading it to your school website, include in your enrolment packs, or attach to your newsletter.
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Bag Hack
With our local New World supermarkets phasing out bags by the end of 2018, some centres and schools have been concerned what they will line their bins with. Try good old newspaper! It doesn’t cost and it has a better chance of biodegrading in the landfill. I’ve been sneaking around my parents place converting their bins.
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Another local solution has been provided by the New Coasters group. In 2017 New Coasters members and friends produced around 500 Boomerang Bags – attractive handmade sturdy fabric bags that are available at the libraries and some other shops to use instead of plastic bags. The idea is to return them so that others who might have forgotten to bring their reusable bags can borrow one. You can find out more by going to New Coaster Facebook page or by contacting Birte Becker-Steel on birte@newcoasters.co.nz |
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Pimp my Coop
Granity School applied for funds to upgrade their Heihei/hen whare. Read this inspiring case study for how to go about creating a top-notch hen house with limited dollars.
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Identify the Current Situation
Our chook whare was in desperate need of an upgrade. There was no shelter or nesting boxes for the chickens to lay their eggs. When children went to the coop to collect the eggs it was like a treasure hunt and aside from being a big time consumer, the eggs were difficult to find. The area was also very mucky and had a less than desirable smell. We also found it difficult to collect the manure for the gardens. We knew something had to be done. The senior class came to the rescue!
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Exploring Alternatives
We started by drawing a plan of what was in close proximity to our chooks. We then brainstormed all the criteria a sustainable design would need. We talked about what recycled materials we could use, different features the chook house needed, and our local surrounds. Our schools is located next to the mighty Tasman sea and we get a lot of rain so we needed to take our sometimes harsh environment into consideration. We also asked our teachers if there was anything else we needed to think about.
We researched what designs were already out there. We got lots of inspiration from an Internet search and from talking to our families. Taking this all into account we used the Design Planner to outline some ideas. We then made some ice-cream stick models of what our desired chicken whare could be like.
As a class we voted on the design that best fit the requirements. We ended up using features from several different models.
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Taking Action
We set to work and started sourcing all the materials we needed. We scavenged wood from the old swimming pool changing sheds, iron from the metal recyclers down the road, and wood from the caretakers shed. Steve, our adult helper, donated a really beautiful lead-light window for us to use. The only materials we needed to buy were nails, screws and hinges.
Students dug the holes, mixed the cement, and poured it into the holes for the posts. Our neighbour used his power saw to cut the timber to length. We started constructing the nesting boxes and learnt a lot in the process. It’s really important to measure twice and only cut once!
After much hard work, a few sore thumbs, and plenty of encouragement and support from our classmates and teachers, the new chicken whare was ready!
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Reflect on Change
The chickens seems much more settled, the eggs are easy to find, and we have a surplus of chicken manure to feed our feijoas and vegetable gardens.
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Kiwi Enviro-Films for Children
Red Heke Production has gone ZEROWASTE. No more discs, plastic or paper and no scratched discs! All their films are now available digitally at Vimeo On Demand. You can either stream (rent) or download (buy) for a fraction of the old DVD cost and the digital file can play on TV, laptop, tablets etc…
OURS: NZ Nature can be viewed here for ages 2-7 (won Green Ribbon award)
Our Creative Children can be viewed here for ages 2-10
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School Children to Nominate their Top Outdoor Spot
The NZ Walking Access Commission are running The Top Outdoor Spot Competition (link). School children across NZ are invited to photograph, draw and describe their favourite place as part of a national competition celebrating enjoyment of the great outdoors. The West Coast is yet to produce a finalist – what a great way to complement your Living Landscapes mahi this year. More information about the 2017 Top Outdoor Spot competition can be found on Both Sides of the Fence education website, online here. The competition will run from 29 January to 6 July 2018.
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2018 Sustainability Calendar
Keep up to date with this year's Sustainability Calendar. This calendar is a must for all teachers. It has practical classroom activities to promote and celebrate sustainability, themes for a month by month classroom and is conveniently split into terms. Download the calendar here
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