3. Resources (for Students and Teachers)
Zero Waste
Zero Waste New Zealand
The Zero Waste New Zealand Trust supports the activities of community organisations, councils, businesses, schools and individuals involved in waste minimisation and recycling.
WasteWise
This is a school programme designed to create an awareness of waste and help schools improve their knowledge and understanding of ways they can reduce their own general waste in particular the disposal of their own organic waste (organics accounting for approximately 80% of total waste in schools). The programme provides participating schools with a 'Hands On' tool and involves establishing a vermicomposting system within each school to process organic wastes. Classroom resource is available to download from website. Schools are able to registar on a national worms in schools database online.
Sustainability "in general"
Sustainable Living Education Trust
The Sustainable Living programme is a practical, fun way to learn and try out actions that will reduce your environmental impact at home. It’s an opportunity 'do your bit' and maybe save some money on living costs along the way.
Global Education Centre (GEC)
The GEC provides training and resources to support both the formal and informal education sectors. Global Education aims bring about a more just and sustainable world through a process which enables people to understand the links between their own lives and those of people throughout the world.
Connected Media
Connected Media is a New Zealand based charitable trust founded in 1993. Their mission is to promote sustainability through media. They advance that mission by developing and distributing media content and through media empowerment projects.
LEARNZ - virtual field trips for New Zealand schools
LEARNZ provides free virtual field trips for all New Zealand registered and provisionally-registered teachers. Many of these field trips link directly with Environmental Education. During a virtual field trip, students experience going right to the centre of the most fascinating events, businesses and locations around the country, in real-time. Students' participation is supported by online background materials and activities, and is enabled using live audioconferencing, web board and diaries, images and videos uploaded daily.
Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit
The ESD Toolkit is an easy-to-use manual for individuals and organisations from both the education and community sectors. This resource addresses the potentially powerful alliance of school systems and communities working together to reach local sustainability goals. It is a US resource but it relevant to us in Aotearoa.
Te Kete Ipurangi - The Online Learning Centre
This links to the Environmental Education Community of TKI, which is the Ministry of Education's portal for education resources.
CO2 Emissions Calculator for Schools
The School calculator will help teachers and students estimate the amount of CO2 your school releases into the atmosphere. Using the tips suggested as a guide, you can develop an action plan for the school. Then you can see how effective you are at reducing the emissions. The school calculator is an excellent hands-on learning resource.
Ecobob - making eco living easy
An informative website covering all manner of eco related topics including eco houses, eco business directory, eco living, eco events and much more.
EcoKids
Hosted by the colourful superhero, Agent Ani, EcoKids is a website that uses comics and animation to encourage kids to protect the environment. Children joining the site can become ECO secret agents - and are given real missions - like protecting our stormwater drains, and patrolling their home for recycling. EcoKids also has numerous fun games, comics and downloadable activities! At its core are the 10 points of the Big Clean Up School Action Plan, such as wasting the waste, encouraging children to walk and bike to school, recycle and visit their local parks.
Precious Energy & Ecological Buildings
Branz - Easy Guide to Eco-Building
The Building Research Association of New Zealand have developed a useful eco building booklet that can be downloaded from this site. It describes how to carry out construction projects with consideration for the environment and suggests things to consider from the very early stages of design right through to the end of the buildings lifetime. There are also references and contacts you can follow up on.
Fuel Saver
This website has been developed by Land Transport NZ to help car divers save fuel. It has some good tips and information on the impact of different fuels types and driving habits. You can search a for the fuel efficiency of a huge range of cars and calculate your own annual fuel consumption.
Energy Efficiency
This website has a section for adults and kids. The adult section provides facts, tips and tools on energy saving and the kids section features fun games on energy efficiency.
The Energy Smart Schools Trust
As part of Conservation Week “The Energy $mart Schools Trust” has released a nationwide multi level thematic unit, complete and ready for the participating schools to implement throughout the school’s classrooms. The thematic unit focuses on the hot topic of “energy conservation” and how we can all play our part in alleviating the associated problems that New Zealand now faces, such as the current contributions to greenhouse gases, landfill waste and global warming.
Hukanui Primary School's Eco-classroom Project
Hukanui is a contributing primary school of around 600 children in Hamilton. Since 2004, Hukanui students have worked on an eco-classroom project. This case study shows the path they have taken and how the WWF Environmental Education Action Fund has helped make it happen.
Living Landscapes
Kids Edible Gardens
Kids Edible Gardens is a Christchurch based initiative that assists schools implementing organic gardening so that children learn how to grow their own vegetables, flowers, herbs and fruit.
Trees For Survival
The Trees for Survival programme supports students of all ages to grow and plant native trees on designated land to prevent soil erosion, improve water quality and increase biodiversity.
Wild about New Zealand
This is a community based biodiversity monitoring and action programme. It supports schools and community groups to monitor an area of land and/or waterway in your local environment on a regular basis. Through the programme your school would learn about all the interactions that occur in your environment, build up a picture of the biodiversity status, and identify some of the most serious threats to local wildlife. Using this information, you can then plan appropriate actions to restore or enhance the biodiversity - turning the tide for your local wildlife.
Department of Conservation
This links to the 'For Schools' section of the DOC website which provides information and resources to support conservation education programmes in schools.
Landcare Research
Landcare have developed a number of resources on New Zealand's plants and animals for use by teachers and students. They also have sattelitte images and climate change resources.
Lincoln High School Mahoe Reserve Project
Lincoln High School is a co-educational high school on the outskirts of Christchurch. It has about 1500 students and an active environmental education programme. The Mahoe Reserve project which received WWF Environmental Education Action Funding is a great example of a school based project being a spring board to broader community environmental projects.
Healthy Water
National Waterways Project
Provides high quality water monitoring activities to schools for use in their local rivers, streams and lakes. It has links to lots of other good sites too!
NIWA
The NIWA site has initiatives for schools, stuff for students, activities and classroom resources.
Up the Creek
Up the Creek is part of the Government's Biodiversity website. Students can join Dion, Rick, and Ani on a trip up the creek to learn how fresh water supports life.
Experiencing Marine Reserves
An innovative marine education programme developed in Northland is bringing school children and community groups face to face with the marine environment. The programme involves investigating marine biodiversity and local marine environments before venturing to the fully protected marine reserve. After the marine reserve experience, students put their knowledge to action within the community. The ENR programmme is available to schools in Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, Gisborne, Napier, Wellington, Picton and Nelson.
The Whitebait Connection
The Whitebait Connection is an action based environmental education programme. It aims to inspire and educate schools, community groups and tangata whenua to restore and take care of the life sustaining force of their local streams and catchments. The Programme is available to schools in Northland, Westport, Nelson and Blenheim.
River Voices
River Voices - an exciting new resource with great cross-curricula potential, particularly for students from Year 5 to Year 13. This resource, containing a DVD and clearly presented suggestions for teachers, has been developed based on The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) and Building Conceptual Understandings: Approaches to Social Inquiry
(2008). The DVD contains nine digital stories from people who have particular viewpoints about the use of the Waimakariri River in Canterbury, but these could easily be linked to other waterway resources in New Zealand. This resource addresses each of the four future focuses outlined in The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) -sustainability, citizenship, enterprise and globalisation.
