Moth Pod Celebration Outing to PARADICE

 Every year we enter the HOWICK LOCAL BOARD MOTH POD COMPETITION. 

Every year we have huge school-wide interest in this event and tally up a massive number of these invasive weeds. 

This year was no different; with nearly 60 different students and teachers helping collect up and bring in pods and many students helping to count them at lunchtimes. 

We loved the addition of finding a GOLDEN pod this year!

All our hard work paid off - not only did we have a huge, positive impact on the environment removing these invasive weeds but we came SECOND school! 

To celebrate we had a fun outing to PARADICE MINI GOLF with our top 4 most active 'podders'. 

PARADICE supports our enviro initiatives at school by regularly donating vouchers for laser tag, mini golf and ice skating. 

We had lots of fun trying out all the unusual parts of the mini golf course. We also enjoyed some treats to keep us going while we played! 

Year 2/3 Adopt a Park

On Tuesday afternoon, a group of very enthusiastic Year 2 and 3 'Enviro students' visited William Green Domain for a planting afternoon.

We began with a quick tour of the park, identifying native trees and collecting rubbish.

Despite the changeable weather, which shifted from rain showers to sunshine, we successfully planted over 100 native trees and plants without getting too wet!

Our planting coordinators, Anna and Levi, demonstrated how to dig proper square holes for planting—we even discovered plenty of worms along the way!

With the support of our fantastic parent helpers, the students worked incredibly hard. We planted a variety of native grasses, cabbage trees, and flaxes, ensuring they were firmly in the ground so the pūkeko couldn't pull them out.

Native Tree Planting with "Trees For Survival"

     On Wednesday a group of enthusiastic year 5 / 6 enviro students set off to plant over 800 native trees & plants on a farm in Hunua. 

For the last 9 months we have been watering and nurturing these plants ready for this day. 

We watched a planting video beforehand and some of us had been last year so we knew what to expect. 

Kirsten, from Trees for Survival, did a great job of starting us off planting and making sure the pukeko weren't going to pull the seedlings out! 

It was a sunny but slightly chilly day when we started planting. But with the help of our fabulous parent helpers and even the bus driver we soon had them firmly planted in the ground. 

Together we planted 835 natives! 

We planted: manuka, karamu, mahoe, ti kouka, harakeke and 2 different types of sedge grass. 

Afterwards we enjoyed relaxing on the lawn, playing in the sunshine and collecting 

grapefruit to take back with us. 

Thank you to Maxine and Hamish, the farm owners, for a delicious lunch and for showing us your beautiful horses. 

Moth Plant Pod Celebrations!

At last the day had come; the day we find out where we had placed in the annual 

MOTH POD COMPETITION! 

For the last few months not only had our awesome team been out weekly collecting pods and roots but the whole school community. This year we had a record of 56 students and staff that brought pods and roots in for our school team! 

  

Moth pod is an invasive weed with a very long vine that wraps around trees and strangles them. The flower sap kills butterflies and bees before growing into a pod that contains hundreds more seeds. 

We were very keen to go and remove as many as we could find! 

Our goal: 10,000 pods and roots... Actual number: 15, 909 

nervously waiting to find out the result... 

The prize giving this year was at Bucklands Beach - a beautiful setting. 

We were very excited to finish SECOND school behind Howick College! 

We received some prize money and everyone in our team received an awesome pin badge. 

We also received certificates for being first at the halfway point and being the school team
that pulled out the most seedling plants. 

awesome pin badge

Eye on Nature Enviro Trip to Auckland Botanical Gardens

Last week a group of enthusiastic and passionate year 5 and 6 enviro students visited Auckland Botanical Gardens to learn more about how we can work together to help the environment. 

 'Ka tipu tahi tatou' 'Together We Grow' 

Activity One

Our first activity was learning about how things are powered - like appliances and vehicles. 

We played a game where we had to shovel coal to a coal box the fastest. 

This taught us that: 

                                   - coal is dirty 

                                   - shovelling coal is hard work!

                                   - it is not sustainable - we will eventually run out! 

 

We use a LOT of energy in our every day lives. 

Luckily, in New Zealand, much of our power is now generated using the wind or water.  

Powering a hairdryer using pedal power! 

Winding a handle to make lightbulbs work.
Some light bulks were easier to power than others.
LED light bulbs are the most efficient.

We can help the environment by: 

using less energy - switching off lights or devices when you're not home. 

Activity Two

Next we learnt about pest animals and how they are predators. 

  

Pests are animals that harm native birds and trees. We learnt about using a tracker tunnel, it has sticky stuck in inside it and when the pests walk in and out of it they leave footprints. Then we can work out what kind of (pest) footprints it matches. From this we can find out what kind of pests are harming the animals. 

Pests harm other animals because they are scared, to protect themselves or it is in their nature - like cats. 

Possums are pests that came to New Zealand. 

By Alaya & Ayla. 

We can help the environment by: 

trapping pests and monitoring their numbers.

Activity Three

Entering the 'ngahere' (forest) and learning about  the ecosystems there was the favourite activity! 

We used our senses to observe nature. We saw and heard lots of tūī,  some pīwakawaka (fantail), the tiny riroriro (grey warbler) and some tauhou (silvereye). 

We discussed what makes a healthy forest and how everything in the forest is connected, for example; the kererū feeds from the nikau palm tree and the weta and fungi live in this tree. 

We can help the environment by: 

planting more natives and taking care of them. 

Activity Four 

We talked about a landscape we had to make based on nature with some water in it. 

Once we were finished we were told something would be added to our masterpieces. Our groups got a surprise when we saw the pile of rubbish! We were appalled and confused! We got 5 minutes to think about what would happen once the rubbish had taken over and we talked about what we would do to stop it. 

By Kimberley & Eden

 

We can help the environment by: 

keeping our waterways clean and rubbish free.

Our enviro groups favourite activities were: 

1st = Exploring the bush 

2nd = Learning about pests

3rd = Energy and water care

Huge thank you to Eye on Nature Beautification Trust for organising this trip for us!