Enviro School

Enviroschools aim: to foster a generation of people who instinctively think and act sustainably.

Sustainability has many different interpretations.

To us it means living in a country where people work with positive energy to connect with each other, their cultural identity and their land, to create a healthier, peaceful, more equitable society.

It means the regeneration of resilient, connected communities in which people care for each other and the environment.

It means valuing indigenous knowledge and celebrating diversity so that everyone thrives.

We believe this can be achieved if we learn together in empowering and action oriented ways.

Enviroschools is a kaupapa

The Māori word kaupapa encompasses words in English such as foundation, principles, ideology, vision, approach, and philosophy.

The Enviroschools kaupapa is creating a healthy, peaceful and sustainable world through facilitating action-learning; where inter-generations of people work with and learn from nature. It weaves in Māori perspectives, combining traditional wisdoms with new understandings. Importantly, our kaupapa reminds us to be in connection: to love, care for and respect ourselves, each other and our planet.

Enviroschools is a programme

The Enviroschools programme supports children and young people to plan, design and implement sustainability actions that are important to them and their communities.

St Mary's Catholic School supports the Enviroschools kaupapa by way of: Bee Green initiatives; Raising chickens; Creating native plant environments; including natural playground; Native plants to natural remedies; Healing and Sensory gardens, Cleaning the schools awa and replanting the banks, Creating totem poles etc. We make it fun for our students, we add colour, we look at our enviornment and with the childrens help create initiatives that use our natural resources and items around us.

We are also promoting "Waste Free" school. Where the expectation is that all lunch wrappers, empty packets and food scraps are taken home. "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle".