living landscapes Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Enviroschools Marlborough

April 4, 2024

Koru Native Wildlife Centre

As the clouds parted and the sun broke through Marlborough ECE teachers descended upon Koru Native Wildlife Centre. The first event offered to Marlborough ECE teachers as part of the new Environmental Education support pilot for Early Childhood Centres was underway. In line with the regional focus of PLACE and CONNECTION this was an opportunity for teachers to meet Ellen. and see what resources she can support kaiako and tamariki with when learning about some of New Zealands native species. Koru Native Wildlife Centre is situated in Grovetown. It invites you to get up close and learn about brightly coloured Yellow Crowned Kākāriki, fascinating Giant Wētā and Marlborough Green Geckos.

: Gecko

: Kākāriki

The centre is set...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

February 15, 2024

Enviroschools stories General

Mayfield Kindergarten’s Mara Kai

Tānemahuta, Rongomatāne and Tangaroa greet you at the entrance to Mayfield Kindergarten. These Pou represent the Kindergarten’s connection to their environment. The characteristics of these Atua underpin the learning priorities for the tamariki that attend. Kaiako and tamariki tiaki (care for) these atua and their wide spread environment, made up of the native gardens, mara kai, a rocky awa and open spaces. Mara kai has been the focus over the last 6 months for kaiako, tamariki and Joy, their gardener. Joy spends 3 hours a week at Mayfield Kindergarten. During this time she empowers the tamariki to be hands on and involved in the garden. Together they sow seeds, plant seedlings, pull out weeds,...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

July 3, 2023

Enviroschools stories

Waikawa Bay School Stream Restoration

This year we have access to some funds through Enviroschools from the 1 Billion Trees Fund. Through this fund we have been able to help Waikawa Bay School purchase trees to plant and restore the stream that they have been successfully trapping for a number of years. Angela, one of our Environmental Educators worked alongside some of the Waikawa Bay School students involved in the trapping and replanting project to identify which trees would be the most suitable to plant and encourage birds to return to the area. Names of plants are important especially for trees with large numbers of species and varieties such as Comprosma and Pittosporum. A name can tell you how tall...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

March 20, 2023

Enviroschools stories

Action Fund makes dream a reality

An Enviroschools Action Fund makes the Wairau Valley school Enviro Teams dream a reality last year. The plan was to create a native corridor for native birds. The team researched what type of plants native birds like and also discussed the flowering times of different native plants to provide food through out the year. It was a great practical activity and the students really enjoyed mucking in. ...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

February 21, 2023

Enviroschools stories General

Witherlea School’s Ngahere expansion

The Enviro Team at Witherlea School were excited to be granted with an Enviroschools Action Fund for the expansion of their School Ngahere. They used the money to purchase a variety of native trees, climbers and shrubs to add to the expansion of their School Ngahere. Originally they had two separate forests divided by a flying fox. When the flying fox came down they were left with a large gravel area. They filled in this gravel area with soil and purchased native plants with the Action Fund. The children chose plants and trees that would attract native birds and a variety of insects. A big thank you from the Enviro Team! ...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

February 7, 2023

Enviroschools stories

Building a Sustainable Community through Kids Edible Gardens

Initially organised for the beginning of the year to kick start our focus on Sustainable Communities, it was great to finally see this workshop take place in term 4. Tamanuitera shone, though Tawhirimatea made his presence known, and we were able to start in the Kids Edible Gardens of Blenheim School talking about some of the companion plants we could see growing and nibbling on the new leaves of the prolific broad beans. Identify Getting down to the nitty gritty we identified what a Sustainable Community could look like. We found that in building a Sustainable Community we are also building our hauora as we connect with nature and foster relationships with people around us. Explore Kids...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

September 27, 2022

Enviroschools stories

Classification of Living Things

The students at Richmond View School became Botanists this term as they explored the classification of native plants on the Taylor Awa. People have always given names to things that they see, including plants and animals. So, of course most of us turn to names as the first form of classification. It was a scientist, Linnaeus, that first developed a hierarchal naming structure (of 7 parts no less). This conveyed information about what a living thing was and also its closest relatives. Earlier this term, if you happened to be walking your dog down the Taylor Awa, you may have come across Richmond View School students studying the Tui to Town plantings. Their inquiry for...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

April 11, 2022

Enviroschools stories

Fairhall’s Native Garden Entrance

Fairhall School's native garden entrance has a makeover Fairhall School has a meandering native garden created to grow beside a stream space that only has water in it for part of the year. It has a bridge over this space and is an area the school highly values. Over the years it has been added to and this time it was the native garden entrance that got a makeover. One of the senior classes and their teacher has been busy doing some planning and work to the entrance. They recently overhauled the Marlborough Rock Daisy garden at the entrance to the garden/ngahere. As part of this space they have created a bark mountain to...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

Linkwater School's sustainable outdoor classroom

December 10, 2021

Enviroschools stories

Linkwater School wins regional Lions award

Linkwater School is celebrating winning this year’s Lions Youth Environment Award for the upper South Island and West Coast region. Linkwater School is a small rural Green-Gold Enviroschool in the Marlborough region, so named because it sits between Tōtaranui/Queen Charlotte Sound and Keneperu Sound. Students and teachers at the school are passionate about their environment. Much of their curriculum is based on students’ learning about and taking action for sustainability, supported by their wider community. Linkwater School is also part of the Marlborough District Council's “Kids’ Edible Gardens” programme. Earlier this term Linkwater submitted their Sustainable Outdoor Classroom development to the Lions Youth Award for District 202E (upper South Island and West Coast) supported by the...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

November 29, 2021

Enviroschools stories

‘Save the fantail’ project

Grovetown School’s Waihi class has embarked on a special project this year to save the fantails in their school forest. Identify The project came about as part of an inquiry: ‘How is our place unique?’. The class began by exploring and learning about the native, endemic and introduced animals and plants in their school. During this exploration, some of the children found empty fantail nests which prompted thinking about why the nests might be empty. Some of the students’ ideas were: “rats have eaten them" - "it is too cold for the eggs and chicks so birds don't lay eggs in winter" - "the fantails think it’s too dangerous because of the rats and possibly stoats so they won't...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

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