Three schools from Gisborne took part in the EcoHut Challenge and all agreed it was an awesome Enviroschools project!
Students, teachers and Council staff had an wonderful day with students as they visited the three ecohuts and heard about each schools’ journey and process of design and build.  The three EcoHuts were peer reviewed with the students voting for the category awards.  Check out the great designs below!

Winners of:
                        Best User Friendly Space
                        Best Learning Space
                        Best Use of Found/ Donated Materials
                        Best Artistic Design
                        Best Low – Environmental – Impact Design (equal with Makauri)

Whatatutu school students are very proud of their EcoHut!  

The walls of the Hut are made from bamboo that has been tied together with plaited harakeke.  Rocks from the local awa have been laid to support the bamboo walls and harakeke mats provide a lovely place to sit.  
The Whatatutu community got behind the students and donated iron for the roof, Real estate signs to be used as backing for the slating on the front of the hut and wooden pou that came from an old tree in a community members garden.

Winners of:
                    Best Construction Design
                    Best Water Conservation Design 

Ngatapa's hut was made up from a variety of recycled materials that won them the Best Construction Award! Bunnings pallets and bamboo created the walls, wool fages were used to line the inside, iron from the teachers pigs pen created the roof and posts and nails were donated from a local family farm.

A very innovative way for collecting water which the students found on the internet earned them the Best Water Conservation Award! 

Winners of:          
                     Best Student – Led Design
                     Best Low – Environmental – Impact Design (equal with Whatatutu School)

This hut is made from chicken netting over an A frame timber shape that was from a students farm.
Harakeke is woven through the chicken netting with Real Estate signs (donated from a students Mum) line the inside walls.  Donated carpet has been laid on the gound to make a comfy place to sit!
The students would like to use it to support climbing beans or other climbing veges/ fruit. 

Photos to come soon!