Leading the Way: Our Enviro Cluster Meeting 2026

 

What an inspiring afternoon of connection and "green" thinking!

Yesterday we hosted the Enviro Cluster Meeting, bringing together students, teachers, and community members to share our progress and vision for a more sustainable future.

Our enviro vision

Our fantastic student presenters

The energy in the room was electric (and sustainably sourced, of course!). Our student leaders took centre stage, sporting their green bows and hats, to present the incredible strides we’ve made in our environmental initiatives; waste minimisation, our Garden to Table programme and our native tree areas. 

In addition, we had fantastic support from David, one of our Garden to Table leaders, who showcased our veggie garden. We also had some extra snacks (linked to Chinese language week) provided by Victoria and the Garden to Table kitchen crew! 

Sharing our Awesome Enviro Mahi!

 Toady we were every excited to have some visitors from Sunnyhills Primary School; Mrs Daniels and some of their eco leaders. As their school is a Green Gold Enviro School we were keen to impress! 

We created a map with all our enviro areas. 

During their visit we showed them...

* Our 'Traffic Light Bin' system and other waste minimisation initiatives (like the class enviro challenge) 

* Our Garden to Table programme and the veggies gardens - we also handed out some cookies made yesterday as part of Chinese language week, 

* How we minimise waste and use natural resources through our compost systems and the water tank, 

* Ways we are trying to restore the natural environment with tree planting and our native garden,

* Our lizard lounge to attract native skinks,

* Our 'Green Room' - our hub for meeting, recycling and brainstorming ideas! 

Garden to Table OPEN DAY

 Today we hosted an open day to celebrate our status of becoming a MODEL SCHOOL.

We had guests from Howick Local Board, our school Board of Trustees and volunteers that have helped over the four years we have been running. 

   

In the afternoon, we had a special assembly. Three of our senior kaitiaki students created and presented a slideshow all about Garden to Table. You can view this HERE. 

We have also set up a fun 'treasure hunt' competition; students find Garden to Table tokens and win prizes! Check back here for an update of our winners! 

  
In our session today we: 

* Made medical tea using kawakawa

* Learnt about a nature slug / snail trap you can make

* Made our favourite Garden to Table recipes - Cheesy green fritters, lemon muffins and kale chips. 

    

Click HERE for all our recipes from the term.

    

   

slug and snail trap - equally fascinating and disgusting! 

 

Enviro goals and roles - 2024

Students have signed up for different enviro roles in term 1. 

Some students have even come up with their OWN roles! 

Monitor jobs and groups include:

- Collecting and emptying the compost bins 

- Checking the Traffic Light Bins each week 

- Helping collect moth pods

- Starting a new garden area 

- Helping in the native garden

- Handing out slips to wrapper free students. 

Congratulations to our Enviro Kaitiaki students.

Their role is to lead projects and speak to others inspiring and empowering them  to help the environment too! 

Year 5/ 6: Nellie, Duncan, Tessa, Anna Rose, Millah, Samuel, Delia, Mahi and Bryn. 

Year 3/ 4: Addilyn, Hunter, Audrey, Thea, Annika, Elana, Eden and Aimee, Charli and Vinny. 

More students can be added to these leadership roles as the year progresses and they 'shine' in their other enviro roles. 

We are a Silver Level EnviroSchool!

We are very excited and proud to announce we have progressed from bronze to being a Silver level EnviroSchool! 

We spent the last few weeks collecting evidence and photos and putting together some posters to present our enviro journey over the last few years - particularly this year.

We were particularly focused on how our enviro programmes had become bigger and better. 

Our major achievements being: 

* Progressing our Garden to Table programme to become a model school and have regular sales and a better established volunteer team. 

* Increasing the number of students and projects

* Continuing to reduce our waste (from 10.27kg a day (2019) to now 2.03kg per day!)

We are have lots of awesome ideas for next year too such as:

- Native garden - re establishing this.

- Creating further contacts to our local marae

- Creating more animal gardens and art areas

Enviro Kaitiaki 2023

 It's only the second week of term 1 but we are already thinking about lots of fun, rewarding ways we can help the environment.
We are looking to set up our ENVIRO KAITIAKI team as soon as possible and would LOVE you to come and join us! 

WHAT is the Enviro Kaitiaki team?

A groups of students who meet weekly to work on projects to promote helping the environment and educating and empowering others to do the same.

2021 Enviro Kaitiaki reaching Bronze level award

WHAT are the Key Qualities of Enviro Kaitiaki?

 ✔️ A role model of the school value ‘Respect for the Environment’. (E.g wrapper free, pick up rubbish)

✔️ Responsible monitor

✔️ Willing to step up and help when needed 

✔️ Confident speaking in front of others 

✔️ Enjoy learning and sharing new skills and information (e.g. Traffic Light Bins)

2022 Enviro Art team painting the food scrap bins 

WHO can be in the Enviro Kaitiaki team?

✔️ Year 3,4,5,6 

✔️ Anyone passionate about helping nature 

✔️ Anyone passionate about being wrapper free and reducing waste

WHAT kind of things do the Kaitiaki do?

This year you can opt into different ENVIRO projects depending on your interests. 

• Monitors - for the compost bins or Traffic Light Bins. 

Responsibilities: checking and, where necessary, emptying bins weekly. 

• Waste Minimisation - Wrapper Free Project (Year 5/6) 

Responsibilities: supporting & educating classes and whanau to reduce the amount of soft plastic in lunchboxes. 

• Adopt a Park Project (Year 3/4)

Responsibilities: visiting a local park (in school time) to tidy it and monitor the stream

• Moth Plant Pod Project (open to everyone) 

Responsibilities: collecting pods in school time and out of school hours, educating classes, counting pods.  

• Trees for Survival  (Year 5/6) 

Term 3 - more info to come later in the year. 

• School Native Garden  (Year 3 - 6) 

Term 2 - more info to come later in the year.

2022 Tree Planting Trip

2022 Enviro Art group decorating a whale tail for an Auckland art trail

HOW do I sign up to be part of the Kaitiaki?

Collect a form from Miss Long, your class teacher or download one HERE.

Attention: Food Scraps in HERE!

Composting food scraps is really important - particularly to us at Howick Primary as we use the compost we make to grow more veggies for our Garden to Table programme! 

Composting is also a great way to reduce waste going to landfill and reduce poisonous methane gas release.  

Our Enviro art team have done a fantastic job of decorating our blue compost bins to make it clear to everyone what can go in these bins. These go outside classrooms for morning tea and lunch food waste. 

We have 3 different systems set up meaning we can compost MORE food waste and in different ways:

- Worm Farms,

- Layered compost system (takes ALL fruit and veggie scraps and other grains), 

- Bokashi bins (which can take meat and small bones).