Enviro School
The connection between humans and the natural world is expressed through kaitiakitanga – a way of iwi restoring and managing the environment. Our responsibility is to look after our gifted creation.
Recycling
At Papakura Normal School ākonga and staff recycle because we care for our environment. Recyclable items in classrooms, the staffroom and the office are placed in bins allocated for paper and cardboard, plastic bottles and aluminium cans, food scraps and milk cartons. These bins are collected by the Year 5/6 recycle monitors and emptied into larger bins. Cardboard is flattened, staples are removed from paper and laminated items are removed, before placing these in the large paper bins. Ākonga are rewarded house points for collecting wrappers and other litter on the school grounds.
The team of recycling monitors are rewarded by receiving points in their Honours Badge booklets. At the end of the year this team is part of a community clean-up.
Ākonga who participate in recycling now will have more of an incentive to carry on this "habit" as adults. We learn as tamariki the benefits of recycling, how easy it is to recycle with the right system in place, and the actions we can take to protect our planet. The recycling "habit" developed in school can serve to transform our whānaus, our communities, our jobs, and our nation, our land, and our oceans, as we recycle more of the products we consume. Recycling and picking up after ourselves help to make us conscientious and concerned citizens.
Gardening
The enviro-gardening club meets once a week. Monday lunchtime.
Ākonga learn about growing food. What they need to survive. Caring for the garden beds.
We also use part of the growing for our learning, like measurement in Maths. We keep a diary of how well our plants are doing.
We harvest and then taste.
Some of our gardening makes our school look beautiful and makes us feel proud.
Gardening is a life skill that we can carry on during our lifetimes.
Trees 4 Survival
