Tamariki from Pirongia and Paterangi Schools are urging adults to make a positive
environmental impact with one message: “Less packaging and more trees.”
As part of the Enviroschools report to Waipā District Council's workshop yesterday, the
Enviro Leaders from both schools presented their sustainability efforts over the last year.
The students spoke with pride and passion about their schools’ mahi to care for the
environment, including worm farming compost, native plantings and setting up pest traps
along ecological corridors that run through the school.
“We’ve set these traps so we can be a safe space for native birds and bats to visit. Our
school bird is the kōkako, and it would be great to see one at our school one day,”
Paterangi School student Torree-Anne said.
Pirongia School student Heidi said her classmates had more exciting projects planned.
“These include a hot compost system for our school and community to put their food
scraps in, which will biodegrade into compost that we can re-purpose and sprinkle on our
gardens.”
Mayor Susan O’Regan said it was inspirational to see the children sharing their
knowledge so confidently. “They are the leaders of tomorrow, our next generation, and
their passion for our environment is a powerful reminder that they are leading the way
towards a better future.”
Both schools have a wide range of projects to reduce waste and champion sustainability.
These include a rainwater collection tank for watering native plants and a traditional
Rongoā Māori healing garden, fruit tree planting, a butterfly farm, recycling programmes
and a garden-to-table initiative.
“Each term, a class gets to participate in a weekly garden-to-table session where half of
the class will look after the garden, weed, plant, water, and harvest the food, and the other
half will prepare a meal to enjoy together. It’s a great opportunity to learn how to grow and
cook,” Torree-Anne said.
Waipā currently has 25 schools participating in Enviroschools that are supported by
Waipā District Council and Waikato Regional Council. If you want to get your school
involved in the programme and learn more, visit enviroschools.org.nz.
