Owairaka's Enviro Vision
Three groups of interested students, Thinkers, Worm Farmers and Waste Busters, meet on a regular basis to discuss environmental issues effecting the school. Ideas for projects are developed and children take part in carrying these out, for example sourcing and planting native plants.
OWAIRAKA IS A GREEN GOLD SCHOOL!
In 2010, we all worked very hard to gain our Green Gold Enviro Award. This involved our children, staff and parents reflecting on what we had achieved and how far we had travelled on our Enviro journey. Every class worked on a particular environmental project. Some of our projects included introducing hens to Owairaka School, adding to our school orchard, creating more gardens, building sculptures out of recycled materials, reducing the waste in the school, producing signs for our trees, developing more cultural gardens and developing play areas.
Principal’s Sabbatical
In 2009, our principal was lucky enough to be granted a term’s sabbatical. During that time Diana visited a large number of schools in New Zealand and a few schools in Australia and Singapore. The main thing that she was looking at was how school’s engage their students and give them a voice. Diana looked particularly at Enviro Schools and schools that are performing very well. Here is the link to her report:
GREEN TIPS
Recycle your gift wrap!
Check out the A to Z guide of reusing and recycling at: www.aucklandcity.govt.nz
Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world – indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
Save the earth. We have nowhere else to go!
The earth is depending on YOU – look after it!
Plant some trees – absorb CO2 in your own backyard.
Clean regularly around your computer – keep the dust away from the fans.
When buying tea or coffee look for the fair trade label.
Remember to use the power saving features on your computer. Let it go to sleep and wake it up when you need it.
Holly says, “Always reuse, reduce and recycle”.
Now is the best time of the year to plant garlic!
Next time you are out for a walk and you see litter lying around, pick it up and throw it in the nearest bin. If everyone does this, our community would be a far cleaner place!
Old Egg Cartons: add them to your compost or use them to grow seeds in!
Donate unwanted things to family, friends and charities. This helps others and reduces waste!
Always wash full loads of clothes in cold water. By doing bigger loads less often, you will conserve water and save yourself some time and money!
Stop using paper towels and start using reusable cleaning cloths. Save money and the environment!
SCRAPE YOUR PLATES! Instead of rinsing plates, scrape food waste into your compost or rubbish bin before washing the dishes.
Say NO to buying bottled water! Have a drink bottle and fill it up every morning before leaving home.
Using the sleep mode uses much less energy than the screen saver on your computer. The shapes might be cool on the screensaver but it’s better to cool off planet earth.
For cold drinking water keep a container of chilled water in the fridge, rather than running the cold water tap until the water is cold.
Now is a great time to plant sweet corn, tomatoes, beans and pumpkin. Growing your own vegetables is a much healthier alternative and a fun family activity.
Have a ‘green’ picnic! If you are planning a picnic make sure you kept it ‘green’. Use real plates and cups instead of plastic ones.
Have a shorter shower! Taking a shower uses up a lot of precious water. Encourage everyone at home to have shorter showers!
Take a walk! Walking to school and around your local community is good for your health and great for our environment!
Don’t use plastic bags for dog poop, use biodegradable bags. Plastic only preserves the dog poop for the next 100 years!
Even if a computer is switched off, it can still be drawing power from the mains. Unplug or switch it off at the wall!
Make a compost! Composting is a great way to reduce waste in landfills and a wonderful way to naturally fertilise your garden.
Make sure you use lids when you are cooking as it means that food will reach boiling point far quicker and take less time to cook!
Turn the lights off when you leave the room!
Observe the three R’s – REFUSE, REUSE, RECYCLE – these are the three most important rules to live by as far as the environment is concerned!
Put an extra blanket on the bed and wear some pyjamas so you can reduce the amount of heating you use.
Remember to turn the tap off when you are cleaning your teeth.
Wash fruit and vegetables in a bowl rather than under a running tap!
Remember to take your reusable bags when you go shopping and say “no thanks” to a bag when buying one or two items. Plastic takes a long time to break down!
Use small plastic containers or bags for taking snacks to school. A few crackers from a large pack placed in reusable containers creates less rubbish and is more cost effective!
Use the back of paper that is no longer needed for your children to draw on, learn spelling words or write stories. At school we call this GOOS paper – paper that is Good On One Side!
Wrap sandwiches and other lunch items in paper wrap instead of plastic wrap. Paper can go to the worm farm and not fill up our bins. Paper wrap is also much cheaper than plastic wrap!
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