Enviroschools Facilitator Cate Jessep introduces the kaupapa of the day
This years first Enviroschools Sustainable Communities Howick Cluster was hosted by Howick Primary, led by key teacher Beccy Long and the school’s Envirogroup. The day focused on connecting with the Enviroschools Kaupapa, as there are 6 new Enviroschools in the 37 strong Enviroschools cluster. The day served as an induction for the new Enviroschools and a refresher for others and was a chance to unpack the Sustainable Communities Guiding Principle definition.
What made the day successful was the positive energy of 73 like-minded teachers and students from 28 schools, five local organisations, volunteers and three members of the Local Board coming together in an inspiring space. There was an enthusiastic buzz in the hall as they collecting their moth plant kits, free LED light bulbs and light refreshments. Howick Primary Principal Michael Earl, a strong Enviroschools advocate, welcomed everyone and then nine Envirogroup students shared their journey and suggestions for action.
73 teachers, students and collaborators came together for a day of Enviroschools professional development and sharing
Howick Primary have strong leadership and a team approach… they are a model Garden to Table school (students made dumplings for the cluster from cabbage and carrots they had grown in their gardens), they have a native area where they do pest management, and with Beccy’s leadership they have embedded strong waste minimisation processes across the school and have reduced their waste to landfill by sixty percent. A tour of the school enabled everyone to spend time seeing sustainable outcomes from deliberate focused action. Visitors selected one aspect to tour and students led the way… to the māra kai, the native area or the waste station.
Howick Primary School’s Envirogroup sharing their environmental actions
A highlight for everyone on returning from the tour, was when teachers new to the programme teamed up with experienced Enviroschools teachers to take part in the ‘Enviroschools Guiding Principles Kahoot’ game, which proved to be a fun way to build knowledge. They continued in their teams, unpacking the Sustainable Communities Guiding Principle description and creating their own simple definition.
Sustainable Communities, one of the Enviroschools 5 Guiding Principles – taken from the Enviroschools Handbook 2025
Lastly the group heard from a number of local organisations working collaboratively with Enviroschools in the Howick Local Board area, including Auckland Transport, Garden to Table, Pest Free Howick, the local moth plant competition, the low carbon dumpling challenge and Local Board funding for sustainable communities action. Regional Coordinator for Enviroschools in Tāmaki Makaurau, Susan Hutchinson-Daniel, also shared information about the Enviroschools Holistic Reflection process. It was a great day of sharing, networking and learning, and people stayed talking to one another at the conclusion of the day and were in no hurry to leave – the sign of a successful day!
Local organisations sharing their mahi