Cluster meeting

           East Auckland Enviro Schools Cluster Meeting

Our final East Auckland Enviro Schools Cluster Meeting was held at East Tamaki School.  The meeting provided an opportunity to celebrate our Enviroschools achievements with the cluster and network with local Enviroschools key teachers. 

We toured East Tamaki's Native Trail and garden areas after students had shared the journey of it's creation and how they are involved today with it's maintenance.  We also found out more about the Mayors one Million Trees project and had a go at Tree yoga!

                              Bike trail runs around the edge of the Native Trail

Travelwise Success – Silver Award

                                      Travelwise Success – Silver Award 

On Wednesday Mrs Venville and Mrs Wallace accompanied our 6 Travelwise leaders to a function at The Cloud to receive recognition of our efforts and plans to improve safety and education with travelling to school. The event included a transport and emergency services challenge around the Queens Wharf and Wynyard Quarter areas. In our first year of the programme we have been awarded Silver Status! Go Sunnyhills! Thanks to all those learners and families for supporting the school with safe parking, walking school buses and scootering/biking safely to school too!

Action Learning in Action! - Sunnyhills Farmers Market Supporting Pest Free 2050 & The Squawk Squad

This term the Sunnyhills learners brought together our edible garden project with our action learning plan to encourage more native birds by holding a Farmers Market to support the Pestfree 2050 project. We've been selling the vegetables, herbs and fruit we've grown to our community and using the money to support The Squawk Squad, who trap pests to protect native birds.

The Squawk Squad were pretty impressed with our efforts!

You can support the Squawk Squad too: https://squawksquad.co.nz/

Action Learning In Action!

Identify the Current Situation -  Learning about native birds - DOC Expriencing Birds in Your Green Space, The Manaki Whenua Landacare Bird Survey, Bird of the Year

Explore Alternatives - research trees to attract birds and how to trap pests that can harm them.  Visit from Ruari a pest expert from DOC

Take Action - plan a new bird corridor to plant new trees for the birds, farmers market to support trappers in reserves, hold a Pestival to promote trapping in the local community, setting and checking rat traps,

AND Treemendous Trees Video Application - view below:

Update - our application was unsuccessful, but Mrs Venville has managed to get 1200 from Gecko Trust to start our bird corridor!  She's planning a working bee to start the work with the help of all our whanau.

Reflect - still no rats caught in our traps, but some local families are catching them.  We think maybe the local cats keep them under control.

Planting Our New Native Trail

Our Community is amazing!

Thanks to parents and students we have planted 1500 natives to create a new Native Trail that runs along the bank behind the school pool and hall.  This extends our bird corridor and brings in more native animals such as skinks.  A huge thanks to Fraser and The Gecko Trust for supplying the plants and teaching us about each species.

Vote for Bird of The Year

Please take time with your whanau, at home, to vote for the BIRD OF THE YEAR

https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/

A fabulous way to learn more about our precious endemic fauna.

Comment with which bird you voted for, to be in to win a Sunnyhills prize.

Native Flora & Fauna Working In Harmony - Whanaungatanga - everything is interconnected

The kowhai flowers are florishing in the native bush walk and the Sunnyhills tuis are putting on a spectacular show for our enviro classes this week.

Children have been able to observe first hand how the tuis curved beak and bristley tongue is perfectly adapted to drink the kowhai's nectar. They repay the kowhai by spreading pollen, so the tree can produce its seeds. Native flora and fauna working in harmony!

Of course problems occur when humans bring plants and animals here, where they don't belong, throwing our ecosystems out of balance. Comment below if you can think of three such pesky plants or animals.

Fruit Trees In Schools Launch

FRUIT TREES IN SCHOOLS

The Sayer Family & Mrs Daniel attended the 'Fruit Trees in Schools' breakfast time launch, at Farm Cove Intermediate.

Thank you to the Howick Local Board & Kings Plant Barn for providing our school with a fabulous variety of new trees, including for the first time a fruiting cherry tree.

We loved the opportunity to explore FCI's edible gardens and learn about their bee hives as well.