Enviroschools
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We have entered into a partnership with Enviroschools.
Like us, Enviroschools started in Hamilton and is now making waves throughout the country. At this point 26% of New Zealand schools – primary, secondary, mainstream schools and kura Maori – are already involved in this groundbreaking programme designed to help kids plan, design and create healthy, sustainable and resilient schools and communities.
After meeting with the team at Enviroschools, we were so impressed with their commitment to creating sustainable communities led by young children armed with confidence, knowledge and initiative, that we felt it was important for us to play a role.
As a result, we have committed to providing a fund to support Enviroschools’ regional networking and learning events. The funds we provide will help them build on their success, which in turn will help equip NZ kids with decision making, planning and budgeting skills.
We sincerely hope that with our support this fantastic programme can provide even more school children with the opportunities and experiences to build a more sustainable future.
Click here to find out more about Enviroschools.
Mother Earth Reward 2011 – Winners Announced!
We received over 25 entries and the judges were absolutely blown away by the amazingly high standard. Winners this year were selected by Niki Bezzant (pictured below), editor of Healthy Food Guide.
Winning entries for an outstanding contribution to healthy food and eating in the community were:
Patumahoe School Pukekohe, Paddock to Plate
Judge's comments:
This is a fantastic example of a project which has developed from a simple school garden into a ‘full circle’ learning experience involving the children, teachers, parents and the wider community. They have big goals – to establish lifelong healthy eating habits in the children – which I love. I think they are on the way to reaching them with their kitchen garden classes, and I love to see the cooking being given equal time and attention as the gardening. It’s fantastic to see the kids are trying and enjoying new foods, and taking that message home with them to influence their families, too. The parent involvement in this project is wonderful, and clearly a big reason why it’s been so successful. I can’t wait to see what they will be able to do with this grant; I’m expecting great things.
Owairaka Primary School, Make and Take
Judge's comments:
Like most great ideas, this one is really simple, and I love it. It’s particularly good to see this was an idea initiated by the children themselves, when they noticed how much unhealthy food was being eaten at school. The idea of getting kids to choose and make their own lunches from healthy ingredients – some grown at school – is a sure-fire way to get them more interested in eating healthy foods. I love to see some of the parents being proven wrong, who thought their kids would never eat a particular food! I hope they’ll be able to expand the programme with the help of this money.
Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Wanaga Whare Tapere o Takitimu, Vege Garden
Judge's comments:
This project proves that even small changes can have big results. A simple vege garden aimed at solving the genuine problem of students coming to school with no food, has rippled out into families and the community in unexpected ways. I love the ‘free soup days’ they have every week – what better way to get kids and adults trying new veges and getting connected to their food? I really like their aim to spread the message into the community with gardening lessons and seeds.
Other Entries
We can’t show them all but here are some pictures of just some of the other fantastic entries that we received in response to our competition.
Bright Horizons Pre-school and their fabulous bottle greenhouse
The amazing Co-Op created by Limehills School
Masterton West Kindergarten and their super vege garden
Te Puke Kindergarten out in the community
