Video - Keas Open a Weta Hotel at Sunnyhills School

Thanks again to our Year 3 Keas for the gift of a weta hotel. Check out this video of their adventures finding just the perfect spot and stay tuned to see if we have any weta guests moving in.

Greenfingers Gang Get Lots Done In Lunchtime

Our lunchtime gardening group for Year 0 - 6 is still going strong and working hard to maintain our edible gardens.

Today the Greenfingers Gang planted the broccoli seedlings that we've grown from seed into our edible garden.

Amy gave the avocado trees some worm tea.

We checked the rat trap by the compost bin. No dead rats, but we saw some pretty gross bugs eating the bait.

Good job Greenfingers Gang! Next week we need to mulch the orchard.

Exploring Whanaungatanga - Compost Can Reverse Climate Change - Our Inquiry Including the Maori Perspective

Kauri Whanau have been looking at the nutrient and carbon cycle and how our compost can reverse climate change. Whao! What? How? Why? Put simply everything is interrelated - we can't take carbon out of the earth's carbon bank in the ground (oil) and put it into the atmosphere (by burning oil) without consequences (climate change).  Luckily composting returns carbon back into the ground and can restore the natural balance.  Compost isn't just about zero waste and tasty veges it can reverse climate change. The following video is a great explanation:

The learners in Kauri Whanau had fun coming up with mimes and plays to act out the nutrient cycle. There were lots of dramatic deaths.

As an NZ EnviroSchool we always try to include the Maori Perspective in our learning in The Green Room.  The concept of whanaungatanga or inter-relatedness of all people and nature is central to the Maori belief system. One way to explore this idea was to look at the family of Papatuanuku & Ranginui.

Kauri whanau worked collaboratively to read the story of Papatuanuku & Ranginui and their children and then create a display of these atua and how we can relate to them.  The following is just a sample of their work.  The full display is up in The Green Room, for everyone to enjoy, just in time for Matariki.

Weta Hotel - A Gift From Our Local Keas - Living Landscapes - Sustainable Communities - Taking Action

Koru Whanau have been learning about the animals in our back yard; our most exciting discoveries included tree wetas in the native bush walk. We wondered how we could protect and encourage these endemic taonga. 

Our wonderful local Kea group has just the answer! They've been building weta houses. Sunnyhills School and the Marae in Howick are two of the lucky recipients of their hard work. 

Griffin, Drake, Hannah & Roman presented Mrs Daniel with the weta house and will help to find just the right spot in the native bush walk. Thank you!

Next we'll go on another bug hunt and reflect on any changes.  Will we see more wetas now they have a cosy hotel?

Want to make your own weta house? Check out this article on the science learning hub: https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1964-building-homes-for-tree-weta 

Can you solve the PTA's sustainability query? Sustainable Communities & Respect for the Diversity of People and Culture

We're so lucky at Sunnyhills to have a supportive PTA; hardworking parents who help fund raise for the school, so we can have all the extras that make this such a special place to learn, so I was super eager to help when Kylee Long approached me with a query....

How could we make the school disco more sustainable? Plastic water bottles are easily improved by using drink bottles, but glow sticks are the problem.  They're glowy fun for a few hours and then complete trash - they can't be recycled and contain chemical nasties.

I'm stumped.  What is a sustainable and fun replacement for glow sticks at our next disco?  Comment below if you can help or have other ideas for making our next school event more environmentally friendly.

Max Worm Farming at Home - Learning for Sustainability

My name is Max. When my granddad passed away mum said he had a worm farm. I really wanted it and my aunty did too. Mum got it for me.

We told Mrs Daniel and she gave me some worms. I can look after the worms and have more pets than just my cat. They're useful because they eat our food scraps. I will put worm castings on our garden too.

Max Year 4

Well done Max. I'm so proud of you! What do you do at home to be sustainable?

Mrs Daniel
Enviro Specialist Teacher

Going Gold Enviro Group Visit GreenGold Enviroschool - Action Learning - Exploring Alternatives

The Going Gold Enviro group walked to Wakaaranga School on Thursday to check out how they are working for a sustainable future.

We saw that we have lots of things in common like compost heaps, worm bins, edible gardens and a native bush trail.

We were really excited to see the differences - soft plastic recycling, bees and chickens. Going Gold are going to investigate how we can do these too.

Thank you to Mrs Scoggins and the Waka Eco Warriors for an inspiring visit!