Enviroschools Hawke’s Bay is Celebrating

Enviroschools Hawke’s Bay is Celebrating

Enviroschools in Hawke’s Bay are celebrating twice this week.

Firstly, Greenmeadows Kindergarten has attained the highest ‘GreenGold’ status for Enviroschools, and is the first Enviroschools kindergarten in Hawke’s Bay to achieve at this level.
Secondly, Pan Pac Forest Products Ltd has been welcomed as a new financial partner in the Enviroschools programme. The company’s contribution of $5,000 per annum for the next two years provides the opportunity for new schools to join the programme.

The current financial partners in Hawke’s Bay are Nina Brathwaite Trust and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, which contribute $21,000 and $22,000 each per annum.

HBRC’s Interim Chief Executive Liz Lambert says the Enviroschools programme in Hawke’s Bay keeps going from strength to strength.

“From humble beginnings in 2003, this education and action-based programme has literally grown legs, contributing to a wider context for enquiry-based learning with our young people,” said Liz Lambert.
“We continue to reap the benefits of this programme with passionate Youth Environment Councillors and energised young professionals. Twelve years in, some of these people now work with us and through other agencies, positively helping us all to address the issues we face.”

The kaupapa or philosophy of Enviroschools is based on the wellbeing of the whole early childhood centre or school, community and eco-system. It’s about working out how to live in a balanced way, so that our society and economy nourish the natural systems that give us life. Enviroschools gives children and young people a framework to explore real life, practical challenges and to apply their abundance of energy and ideas.

Enviroschools now operates at a significant scale, involving nearly a third of New Zealand’s primary and secondary schools, and a growing number of early childhood centres. In Hawke’s Bay there are currently 50 schools and early childhood centres from Wairoa in the north to Flemington School in Central Hawke’s Bay.

For further details on Enviroschools, visit their website www.enviroschools.org.nz or contact the regional coordinator, Sally Chandler at Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

ENDS

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