Mission Heights Primary (MHP) is the first school in New Zealand to do their Enviroschool green-gold review online.
On December 3 MHP students and teachers, including assistant principal and lead teacher for Enviroschools at MHP Renuka Lal, conducted a two-and-a-half hour digital review with Enviroschool.
The environment-based programme seeks to empower young people to design and lead sustainability projects in school and the community to demonstrate what the school’s done to look after the environment.
This was to provide evidence to retain their green gold status, the highest rank of being an environmentally friendly and sustainable school.
Lal says that MHP is overjoyed to successfully maintain its green-gold status,
MHP became an Enviroschool in 2003 and first achieved green-gold in 2017.
The students engage in a diverse range of activities to care for their environment – from worm farming, recycling, biking and walking to school to waste minimisation, gardening, and planting native trees.
“We reduced our school waste by 34 per cent,” Lal says.
MHP students continued their environmentally-friendly work throughout lockdown, transferring their knowledge from school into their homes.
“The kids did recycling and planting at home,” Lal says. “Some have started their own mini gardens, composting systems and worm farms. It’s quite inspiring!”
Lal thanked MHP principal Caroline Bush for empowering the students and teachers to integrate learning and sustainability at the school.
“We would also like to thank Cate Jessep, our sustainable schools advisor for her motivation and vision,” Lal says.
