Our Vision Map

In 2012 the Enviro-Leaders carried out a vision quest. We surveyed staff and students to find out their ideas for how to improve our school environment. The results of our vision quest can be found on the Enviro-wall in the library.

We asked students for their ideas under the following headings: wai/water; pūngao/energy; māra/gardens and parakore/zerowaste. Here's the feedback:

Wai - Water

 A system for watering the gardens

- redirect spouting

- collect rain water

- holes in spouting that can be plugged/unplugged

 More drinking fountains (clean ones)

 Mini flush toilets

 Fix leaking taps

 Turn off taps

 Planting on stream banks

 Water filters in classrooms for drinking

 Hot water in classrooms

 Clean up the creek

Para Kore - Zero Waste

 Compost our food scraps

Take rubbish home in lunch boxes

 Pick up rubbish

 No littering

 More rubbish bins

 Wheelie bins for compost

 Packet-free days

 Clean up stream once a term

Rubbish patrol monitors

 Zero waste lunch boxes

 Rubbish audit

 Better recycling

 Reduce use of plastic

 Recycling bins in playground

Pūngao – Energy

 Light monitors – turn switches on and off

 Solar power

 Solar panels for swimming pool

 Lights, computers and appliances off when not in use

 Fewer bulbs

 Curtains

 Posters to raise awareness about energy use

Māra – Gardens

 Water tank to catch rain water

 Irrigation system

 Class gardens

 Garden club

 Rongoa Maori

 Edible gardens

 Sensory gardens

 Health garden

 No rubbish in gardens

 Signs in gardens – plant names, Māori plant names

 Responsibilities – who cares for and waters the gardens?

 Grow more plants

 Vege growing competition

We also asked teachers for their ideas based on the 5 Enviroschools Guiding Principles. Here's what they said.

Respect for diversity of people and cultures

Celebrate cultural diversity through our food

 Resisting change to prepacked foods

 Everybody’s ideas are valued and respected

 Use of different languages

 Respecting different foods

 Shared food

 Planting shrubs/plants from SE Asia

 Signs in different languages

 Sign language focus for 2013 and beyond

 Buddy classes school-wide

Māori Perspectives

Māori vocab in cross-curricular activities

 Learn about local traditions/legends e.g. boulder bank

 Plant signs in Māori

 Have a more Māori point of view e.g. beach theme = Tangaroa

 Mainstream work proactively to learn and share Māori perspectives within teaching and learning

 Develop a sense of social commitment

 Classroom names in Māori instead of numbers

 Treaty of Waitangi – taonga and values

 Learn about native plant medicinal uses e.g. harakeke

 Plants that attract native birds

 Another mural on eastern side of whare

 Māori perspectives included in all topic planning school-wide

 Staff/board participate in nationhood-building seminar (treaty, NZ history)

 Learn about Māori atua

Sustainable Communities

Seeing the value of our garden from different local perspectives e.g. children, aged residents, shopkeepers

 Sharing/exchanging extra veges from home or a mini-market day

 Envirogroup lead a parent information day

 Bring in inspirational experts to motivate and inspire

 Selling things we make e.g. garage sale, food, trash/treasure, kawakawa balm

 Stronger connections with railway reserve

 Pack in pack out waste - from staffroom down

 Community run how-to classes on preparing healthy food and reusable packaging

 Buy 2 litre containers of milk

 Gardens – better links to school, children planting

 Workshops for refugee families e.g. budgeting, different foods, recycling

 Rubbish – “Keep Victory Beautiful” project

 Parents sharing skills e.g. gardening, rongoa, weaving

 Parent education

Learning for Sustainability

Encourage saving water, heat, light

 Routines regarding food and recycling

 Make our own paper

 Re-use our own rubbish

 More links to immediate natural environment e.g. eel ladders in creek, lizard zone, native bird attraction

 Approach council and BOT for support

 Skill development for life – making, re-making

 Educate about other options in order to reduce rubbish e.g. lunchboxes

 Increase recycling options

 Educate about why we recycle

 Walking school buses

 Bike safety

Empowered students

Suggestion box in library

 Inquiry learning – reporting back and action learning

 Envirospot at assembly

 TV reality show

 More evidence of student involvement in decision making

 Value and encourage students’ ideas

 Checklists and visuals to encourage only using what you need

 Regular reminders with children regarding litter

 Talk about energy saving with class, get ideas from children

 Class checklists on energy use

 Give Victory leaders an enviro focus

 Improve neglected areas in school

 Energy monitors in class

 Connection with intermediates