55 New EcoHuts in Aotearoa - congratulations to all schools that took part!

 The EcoHut Challenge invited school-age students to  design and build an  ecological habitat on their school  grounds that would enhance all living things  around it.  

 The challenge went out in 2009, with the judging and  celebration week held in  National Action Week 20th -  28th March 2010.

 Student teams from across the country took up the challenge, with both primary and  secondary schools taking part.  In all, 55 EcoHuts were constructed from a wide  variety of materials and in many creative designs!

As well as providing children and young people with a stimulating and fun hands-on experience of eco-building, schools have reported many social and educational benefits.  Many teachers have commented that the project has been fantastic for engaging and motivating students who learn kinaesthetically – the practical hands-on nature of the challenge has proved ideal for many students for who struggle to engage with classroom-based learning.  

The EcoHut Challenge has also led to stronger connections between schools and people in their community who have helped out with, and been inspired by, the project.

Springlands School in Malborough emailed us with this feedback:

”We were delighted with the opportunities the Eco Hut Challenge provided for our students and the school community.  We had Pukehou School in the Hawke’s Bay as a peer review buddy. It was so cool to see what a group of students from a similar district came up with. The process was amazing and will go down as one of our whole school successes. We managed to involve all the 400 students in our school.  The learning that went on throughout the process was amazingly sophisticated. Thank you for offering such an enterprising and authentic challenge.”  

Visit these regions to see their awesome EcoHuts! 
Northland
Gisborne
Hawkes Bay
Wellington
Marlborough
Otago

Coming soon...features for the Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Canterbury!