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Enviroschools is a facilitated approach. There are elements which are part of this process.

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12 Enviroschools Process - school version

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Theme areas - Living Landscapes - Water of Life - Ecological Building - Zero Waste - Energy

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Theme areas - Living Landscapes - Water of Life - Ecological Building - Zero Waste - Energy

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After developing a vision for their school or centre, Enviroschools will want to take action in specific areas.
https://enviroschools.org.nz/team-area/enviroschools-theme-areas/

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🌿 Enviroschools Te Upoko o Te Ika a Māui Newsletter

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Ngā mihi o te tau hou Pākehā. A warm welcome to the 2021 school year and to the wide range of opportunities for inspiration and sharing ahead of us. As a nation we are being challenged to look beneath the surface and examine the values in our society that propel us towards climate change.

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Enviroschools Facebook page - local and national

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Enviroschools Facebook page - local and national

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https://www.facebook.com/EnviroschoolsTeUpokoOTeIkaAMaui/

https://www.facebook.com/enviroschoolsnz

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You can now add our pictures and collages to your newsletters. Please use this guide and download the graphics. You will need your password to get into the team area of our website. This is for Enviroschools only.
https://enviroschools.org.nz/team-area/enviroschools-visual-id-media-and-communications-guide/

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View this online or find a copy in your Enviroschools Kit.
https://enviroschools.org.nz/team-area/the-action-learning-cycle/

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Traditional Maori Game - Poi Rakau! | What Now

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Group variation of paper scissors rock.

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He Pākanga Atua / Battle of the Atua - Game of Strategy and Luck !

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Mauriora ki te rangi
Mauriora ki te papa
Mauriora ki ngā kaiora
Mauriora ki te tangata

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Listen to ...

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Whole school tackling Waste at Trentham.

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Starting with a few interested students learning about waste in their lunch hours, over two years Trentham School have put in place a comprehensive waste minimisation system with the whole school involved. The key to getting whole school involvement in the system was in dedicating school time to learning and action opportunities.

When Trentham School joined the Enviroschools network in 2017, they had a sense of wanting to make a difference to the environment but no clear pathway for how they might tackle that.

They were recycling cardboard and paper with the Paper4trees programme but didn't have a school-wide approach to deal with other waste. Their Facilitator, Michelle, had some great examples of what other schools had done to minimise waste, a brand new Zero Waste resource to share and she knew of some good programmes the school could access.

Knowing that you have to start somewhere, the school chose to set up a small lunchtime Nature Club where students learned about lunchbox waste and its effects on nature. Upper Hutt City Council provided funding for the Nature Club students to go on a Hutt City World of Waste tour which showed the students what happens to their waste after it is collected.

They returned with a clear message to share:

"There is no such place as 'away' when it comes to rubbish."

The stormwater awareness drain art was one way to start sharing that message. But they could see that more was needed if they wanted to make real progress towards Zero Waste.
Extending to a whole school approach
When a new Enviroschools lead teacher came on board, she reflected along with the Enviroschools Facilitator and the management team, that holding the Nature Club during lunchtime placed limitations on what could be achieved and the numbers that could be catered for.

The teachers at Trentham could see that if they wanted real change they would need to get serious about the whole school approach advocated by Enviroschools. They needed better opportunities for the Nature Club students to extend their knowledge and leadership, and also opportunities for every class to engage in some learning and action on waste.

They decided to trial an environmental group as an option during whānau time which took place once a fortnight for an hour. In term three, more than sixty students chose the new Eco Warriors option!

This was more than anyone had expected and it meant splitting the group into gardening, litter and sustainability sections. It also meant that there was a much broader base of students ready to provide leadership when the school used a grant from the

Upper Hutt City Council Zero Waste and Community Garden Fund to bring in the Sustainability Trust to run the "Your Sustainable School Waste" programme.

Initially the Trust's educator helped the school to consider their waste systems. Other than recycling the tetra packs from the Fonterra Milk in Schools Scheme, each classroom had a single bin for all waste with no processes in place to recycle organic waste.

The educator then worked individually with four middle school classes to make worm farms to take some of the organic food scraps. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities for the students.

The Sustainability Trust educator also talked with staff and showed them what a difference good systems can make to the amount of waste that ends up in landfill. They were keen to change their behaviours too.

When a set of bins and signage arrived in Term 4, the Eco Warrior team was ready to help distribute them. They set up a class buddy system to provide ongoing support to each class.
The proof of the pudding
In May 2019, the system has been operating for two full terms. The Envirogroup students think the system is working pretty well. Most classes are getting confident about where to put each kind of waste.

The food scraps that once went to landfill now are delivered to the new compost bins and worm farms built with the support of the Sustainability Trust. The whole new bin system is promoting a lot of discussion amongst children and teachers. What can and can't be recycled? Why is it so important? What are the alternatives?

The Envirogroup students are still driven by their original concern to keep plastics out of the environment because they know the harm it can do to sea life, but now they also understand that plastic does not break down.

"Food scraps break down into compost to feed the soil - but plastics just stay there forever" - Trentham student.

The school has also made adjustments to routines to reduce the impact of litter in the environment. Students now eat inside at the end of playtime and lunchtime instead of the beginning.

"It is a lovely calm time where we come together - and any waste can be disposed of with care, instead of the mad dash to get out to play. It has made a big difference to the amount of litter seen in the playground," says teacher Anne-Marie.

And the whole project has meant a significant cut in the waste going to landfill.

"There's been around a 25% reduction in waste going to the landfill," says caretaker Mike Robinson, "and we are also saving the school $160 per month in bin/skip costs."

"Enviroschools has connected us to the resources we needed to make a school-wide shift in the way we approach waste and our engagement with the Your Sustainable Schools Programme. Enviroschools and Your Sustainable Schools worked well together. Kim, from the Sustainability Trust provided all the data and equipment to kickstart the in-class recycling programmes, while Enviroschools supported further in-class learning and provided ongoing support to ensure the programme continues to run well" - Enviroschools Lead Teacher at Trentham School.

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Whole School Approach to Tackling Waste Takes Off at Trentham

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Starting with a few interested students learning about waste in their lunch hours, over two years Trentham School have put in place a comprehensive waste minimisation system with the whole school involved. The key to getting whole school involvement in the system was in dedicating...

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Practices - Implemented and maintained.
Programmes - Where students learn in, about and take action for the sustainability of our world and everyone in it.
Places -Where practices and learning can take place and involve the wider community.
People - Everyone can be involved and have a voice and is communicated with - sharing actions and learning.

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Whole school approach -template  4Ps 2020

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This is a Taranaki resource that is still being developed. We hope to develop our own Wellington Region one.

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Linking standards to Enviroschools  Taranaki

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Inquiry for taking action for active travel - a possible response to climate change.

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The Active Travel Action curriculum resource has been developed by Greater Wellington Regional Council and Enviroschools - Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui.

The resource provides a process for schools to implement sustainable active travel practices in their school through student inquiry - and an opportunity for students to take action in response to climate change.

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The Active Travel Action curriculum resource has been developed by Greater Wellington Regional Council and Enviroschools - Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui. The resource provides a process for schools to implement sustainable active travel practices in their school through student inquiry - and an opportunity for students to take action in response to climate change.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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A definition of sustainability ...

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What they do in their Enviroschool.

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Principal and students share their wonderful environment - developed over many years.

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Keep a record of the action, learning and benefits for projects and practices through this tool.

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Ideas for Living landscapes and other theme areas.

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Ideas for Living landscapes and other theme areas.

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An inspiring brainstorm put together by the Wairarapa Earthschool.

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All of our padlets - including - topics, enviroschools inspiration and process examples.

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Learning for Sustainability Big Ideas / Concepts

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Learning for Sustainability Big Ideas / Concepts

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Developed from a number of sources.

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9 Table of Concepts / Big Ideas of Learning for Sustainability

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Like our School Review Tool for Students

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Like our School Review Tool for Students

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Like our school Reflection Tool - page by page.docx

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An example of how you and your facilitator to use to keep everything in one place.

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1.0 St Patrick's Enviroschool Strategy and Planning

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St Patricks, Masterton has just developed this after 10 years in the programme.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Great Education for Sustainability Videos

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Great Education for Sustainability Videos

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A padlet of links.

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Sylvia Park School - Outdoor Classroom Inquiry

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Sylvia Park School - Outdoor Classroom Inquiry

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Sylvia Park School - Outdoor Classroom Inquiry

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Learning for Sustainability Resources - In / About / For the Environment 

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Learning for Sustainability Resources - In / About / For the Environment 

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General topic areas with links to NZ information sources, NZ units of learning, pūrākau, Environmental Education providers

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This planner integrates the 5 Guiding Principles into the plan.

At the Fruit stage  of the inquiry process - there is an expectation for students to take action .

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Enviroschools - What it looks like in reality - inspiring stories

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Enviroschools - What it looks like in reality - inspiring stories

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A collection of photos from schools with captions.

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Greytown school - integrating sustainability into their curriculum and taking action in the community.

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An air of confidence and clarity is evident in 11-12 year old Greytown School students as they grapple with and address real world problems through their in-class sustainability inquiry.

"You can't sit around waiting for someone else to do it," says Petra. "You need to think about the future ... not just living for now."

"We (young people) have ideas and we can change the world" says Sadie.
A whole-school inquiry into sustainability
Greytown School regularly integrates education for sustainability into their curriculum through inquiry. In 2018, they undertook a school-wide inquiry into what it meant to be an Enviroschool.

The Kahikatea syndicate (Y6-8 students) called their inquiry The Power of Redesign.

They asked "How do we make our community more sustainable? " And they chose to focus on waste.

To help students understand why we have to make a change, their teachers took them to the wastewater and transfer stations and to Henley Lake.

They talked to Jo Dean, the Zero Waste officer for the three Wairarapa Councils, and went through the process of making plastic in their science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum.

Their major realisation was that plastic never really breaks down.

The students were able to dig up an intact muesli bar wrapper nearly two terms after burying it, and saw images of the plastic island that is developing in the Pacific Ocean.
Influencing businesses in the community
When it came to the all-important action-taking aspect of the inquiry, different classes focused on different stages of the waste hierarchy.

Reuse: One class began reusing plastic bottles to build a greenhouse.
Reduce: Another class took action to reduce waste by campaigning for litter-less lunches.
Redesign: Room 10 chose to investigate how they could influence a business to change something about the amount of waste they generated. Approaching the businesses had a powerful effect on the students involved.

In groups, pairs or individually, the students researched a business. When they came across something they didn't find environmentally friendly, they were tasked with coming up with an alternative solution and approaching the business with their ideas.
Tackling plastic use at FreshChoice
Ella's group was concerned about the plastic bags used in the produce department at the local FreshChoice supermarket.

Ella wrote and sent letters telling the managers about how plastic was getting into the oceans. She determinedly wrote seven different letters without getting a response.

Undeterred, she took her 8th letter to visit the produce manager in person. He told her she should be a lawyer and took her to meet the store manager where they discussed things that could be done to reduce the plastic.

Later that week cotton bags were available for sale in many places in the supermarket that people could use for their fruit and vegetables!

"I think I have made a difference in lessening the amount of plastic at my local supermarket. It makes me happy."
Bread tags at Breadcraft
Millie's group wanted to do something to combat polluting. She had visited the National Aquarium of NZ in Napier where she saw an x-ray of a turtle with a bread tag stuck in its throat.

"One idea we came up with was to design a cardboard prototype to replace plastic bread tags. It was really hard to make - it took most of the day and finally I got it right. Initially we emailed Breadcraft with our idea but got no response. Then we realised that the CEO of Breadcraft in Masterton was a parent at Greytown School so we set up a meeting one day in the library. We talked about the issue and we shared our prototype."

Millie was invited to tour the Breadcraft factory. The CEO showed her the machines - and how fast they moved and how it would be very hard to change at this point in time. But they are considering how they might change the use of plastic bags.

"I find companies put economy first before the environment but don't realise that the cost is going to be there still - it will be to our future." Millie

A few learning gems from the students:
"We need to realise we have persuasive skills and use them."
"Direct is always better."
"There is a solution to most problems."
"We can help but we realised that it is going to take time - it [change] is a long term thing and you need to look a few steps ahead."

Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tuohū koe me he maunga teitei.
Pursue that which is precious and do not be deterred by anything less than a lofty mountain.

Greytown School reaffirmed that they were a Green-Gold Enviroschool in 2018. Alex Southall, a Y7/8 teacher at Greytown School says: "I really love being an Enviroschool, as it is another way that we focus on students taking action, and being empowered to make change in any way they see fit. Students build on their learning in and about the environment throughout their years at school here and by the time they get to being seniors they are well versed in making things happen!"Greytown School-leavers can continue to be empowered change-makers at Kuranui College, which became an Enviroschool in 2017.

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Generation of Changemakers Emerges at Greytown School

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An air of confidence and clarity is evident in 11-12 year old Greytown School students as they grapple with and address real world problems through their in-class sustainability inquiry. "You can't sit around waiting for someone else to do it," says Petra. "You need to...

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Enviroschools Processes - web and padlet support 

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Enviroschools Processes - web and padlet support 

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About Enviroschools and our  Guiding Principles

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About Enviroschools and our  Guiding Principles

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Empowered Students

Sustainable Communities

Learning for Sustainability

Māori Perspectives of the Environment

Respect for Diversity of People and Culture

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Hinepūtehue - Qualities of the gourd, restoring peace, calm and healing with its soothing tones and musical qualities

Ka mihi ki a Ranginui, ki a Papatūānuku, ka mihi ki te ngao o te wheiao.

Enviroschools is a nationwide programme supported by Toimata Foundation, founding partner Te Mauri Tau, and a large network of regional partners. Early childhood centres and schools commit to a long-term sustainability journey, where tamariki/students connect with and explore the environment, then plan, design and take action in their local places in collaboration with their communities.

Our Kaupapa

The Enviroschools kaupapa is about creating a healthy, peaceful, sustainable world through learning and taking action together.

Our Kaupapa guides all that we do and is embodied in five guiding principles that underpin the whole Enviroschools journey:

Empowered Learners participate in meaningful ways in their community. Their unique perspectives and questions are valued and honoured. They feel connected to the whenua and support each other as a learning community to create meaningful change and hopeful action.

Learning for Sustainabilit y is a holistic, action and future-focused approach to learning, that engages our whole selves and addresses all aspects of our local and global environment.

Te Ao Māori honours tangata whenua of this land. When we are envisioning and taking action for a sustainable future in our community, we are doing so alongside local hapū.

Respect for Diversity is celebrated, and all forms of identity and ability are respected. Cultural traditions and practices from all people are experienced, valued and appreciated in learning spaces, honouring practices led by that community. Access to safe and engaging learning is available to everyone.

Sustainable Communities act in ways that nurture all aspects of nature, including people, now and in the future. By working together and supporting each other we create safe, healthy, equitable and thriving communities.

The Enviroschools Approach

Every early childhood centre and school across the country is unique, with its own ecology, history, culture and community - so Enviroschools looks different in every setting. The journey of connecting with the place and its people is designed and led by each school or centre. There are some key steps, or processes that many centres and schools have found valuable to undertake, as outlined in the diagram below. Experience has shown that the components of the Enviroschools process are not linear - they overlap, are revisited, modified and further developed, supporting schools and centres to develop their own holistic approach that deepens over time.

Exploring the Kaupapa

A great way to start your Enviroschools journey is for school and early childhood centre staff to explore the Enviroschools Programme in depth, celebrate where they're at, and plan their process going forward.

Facilitator support

Enviroschools facilitators support the whole school/centre journey, assisting teachers, caretakers, school management and community members to integrate sustainability and Environmental Education into their roles including classroom learning, planning, policies and Enviroschools projects.

Envirogroup

The Envirogroup gives voice to student ideas and ensures that decisions are made in a participatory way and is made up of students, staff and community members.

Experiencing the environment

The Enviroschools Kit and Theme Areas offer activities and tools to support students' sensory immersion in the environment, increasing their awareness of the world they are a part of.

Taking Action

A range of Enviroschools tools support students to collaboratively plan, design and take action on the issues that they are passionate about.

Whānau, Iwi and community

Connecting with tangata whenua, local organisations and whānau strengthens understanding of Māori values and enriches the learning and action process for young people.

Policies, strategies and care codes

Integrating sustainability and the Enviroschools kaupapa into strategies enables a whole school / centre approach.

Vision map

Is a visual representation of the aspirations, qualities and projects agreed by the whole school/ centre. It is displayed in a public place and guides the Enviroschools journey over time.

The Action Learning Cycle

Guides the whole school journey and individual projects. It enables children and young people to be empowered to investigate, explore ideas, make decisions, take action and reflect on the changes they have created.

Reflection and Celebration

Reflecting on the process, achievements and learning gives opportunity to deepen learning and celebrate the whole collaborative process along the journey.

Enviroschools Support Structure

The vision of creating healthy, peaceful more sustainable communities involves bringing together many different skills, perspectives and resources. Building and maintaining a collaborative support network has been essential to the development of Enviroschools. The Enviroschools support model has multiple levels of collaborators, each playing different roles.

We mihi to the hundreds of organisations and our partners that have woven their contributions over 20 years, into the vibrant and resilient support model we now have.

National Hub

Toimata Foundation in partnership with Te Mauri Tau holds overall programme development spearheading innovation and direction for Enviroschools nationwide and providing Enviroschools resources, facilitator training, mentoring and professional development.

Regional Implementation network

A strong network of regional partners bring skills and on the ground support enabling the implementation of the Enviroschools programme. They support Regional Coordination and facilitation. An Enviroschools Regional Coordinator directs the programme regionally and supports a team of Enviroschools Facilitators who work with schools and centres.

Schools and centres

Contribute staff time, project costs and capital investments to their Enviroschools, journey - enabling staff professional development, student-led projects, policies that promote sustainability and using Enviroschools as a holistic context for the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Whåriki.

The wider community

Plays a key role in the Enviroschool's journey. There is substantial support from local businesses, community organisations and individuals providing donated goods, volunteer time, advice and expertise. This helps schools and centres implement practical projects and fully develop their sustainability plans and visions.

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About Enviroschools Ka mihi ki a Ranginui, ki a Papatūānuku, ka mihi ki te ngao o te wheiao. Enviroschools is a nationwide programme supported by Toimata Foundation, founding partner Te Mauri Tau, and a large network of regional partners. Early childhood centres and schools commit...