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Message from the Educator
Kia ora koutou,
While Covid-19 restrictions kept us at home in our bubbles for many weeks, life slowed down. There were less cars on the road, lots of people were out walking/cycling, and people had more of a connection with their backyards with some reporting that they heard more birds. Papatūānuku and Ranginui got a break, they were resting and recovering too, as people were having less of an impact on the environment.
As we ease back into the new normal, some schools have jumped straight back into exploring and taking action on their environment. So here are a few stories about what they have been up to, plus a few more from before restrictions took place.
Lastly, September gives you quite a few environmental events you can get involved with. Check out the links to these at the end of the newsletter.
Naku noa,
Sarah Williams, Environmental Educator
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
How can our land use impact water quality?
Hiwinui School have a 2020 whole school inquiry on water. Exploring this important topic was close to home for many of the students and their families as they rely on tank water for drinking, and really suffered with the drought last summer. They invited me along to spend time with each class to learn about water pollution, and how our streams and rivers can be impacted from the different ways in which we use our land. The Enviroscapes water catchment model is a great tool to do this and the students really enjoyed adding different ‘pollutants’ onto the model before making it rain.
Seaweek 2020 at Kai Iwi Beach
In March, just before Covid-19 restrictions were put in place, we collaborated with Whanganui Regional Museum, Department of Conservation, and Sarjeant Art Gallery to run Seaweek themed activities at Kai Iwi Beach. Students explored what creatures you can find in that estuary habitat where there is a transition between sea and freshwater – lots of shrimp was one of them!
ENVIROSCHOOLS
Unpacking the Enviroschools kaupapa with Horowhenua Enviroschools
To kick off their Enviroschools journeys, we held a half day cluster workshop for our Horowhenua Enviroschools. All Enviroschools were represented and teachers explored the resources available to support them, unpacked the kaupapa and Guiding Principles, and looked at how the kaupapa of the programme fits with the NZ and Te Whāriki curriculums. The aim of all our workshops is that they inspire, to learn something new, and to network with other Enviroschools whānau. So this was a great opportunity for teachers to connect with others and start building a strong network. It was really great to co-facilitate the workshop with both the new Horowhenua Facilitator, Chris Simons, and our very experienced Manawatū/Rangitīkei Facilitator, Rowena Brown.
Getting back into the new normal with a whole school enviro-action day
At their recent enviro-action day this term, Manchester Street School showed off their new fire pit which they have constructed by re-purposing wheel rims. They cooked potatoes wrapped in foil for all the staff and students, and with 400 students plus staff that’s a lot of potatoes!
The Pat Kelly Enviroschools Action Fund
Kimbolton School were one of the successful recipients of the Pat Kelly Enviroschools Action Fund. Their school paddock has been under-utilised for a number of years, and the Board of Trustees had identified it as a space with much potential if given a bit of care and maintenance. The students suggested planting fruit trees on the boundary to create a community garden. The fund enabled them to kick start this project with the purchased twelve fruits trees which they planted when we came out of Covid-19 restrictions.
The Pat Kelly Enviroschools Action Fund opens again on 20 July with applications closing on 1 December. Details including eligibility criteria are available here.
Another holistic reflection in Rangitīkei
Big congratulations to Follett Street Kindergarten in Rangitīkei on their Bronze Reflection.
RESOURCES
Bee Awareness Month
If you want to get buzzy about bees, then September is Bee Aware month. What is happening in your living landscape? Are there bees? Do you want bees? Resources for schools and families are available for download here.ware-month/
KNZB Clean up week 7-13 September 2020
Is there a local reserve you are assisting in restoring? What are your roadsides like? We know that litter left on the land ends up in our streams and then the sea. Take action in your community - clean up!
Conservation Week 15-23 August 2020
It has been a challenging year so far - so the Department of Conservation would like to encourage you to keep it simple, connect with nature, and look after each other. The key things we can do this year for Conservation Week are to learn about nature and take part in activities online, and in our backyard.
Great Kererū Count 18-27 September
Join in the Great Kererū Count and create a focus in your school community. It is an opportunity to connect with our beautiful manu. KCC has a great education pack for doing the Kererū count.
Kids Greening Taupō – Nature Connector
If you have not already found this website, Kids Greening Taupō has a great collection of simple ideas and activities for nature connection in your local green space, backyard, or school called Nature Connectors. They also have Online Nature Classroom units that are planned to integrate the learning areas of the New Zealand curriculum and to link to the values and key competencies. Their latest offering is about Exploring Soils.
