Zero Waste Education in schools

 

Our Zero Waste Education (ZWE) programme has been adopted from the Environmental Education for Resource Sustainability Trust (EERST). ZWE in Schools is a local council funded education programme run in the Whangarei and Far North areas.

 

Our education programme provides schools with support for existing recycling systems, assistance to set up a new system and or the education programme.

 

 

 

 


Education Aims:

1. Present environmental sustainability as the direction for the school
2. Develop an understanding of the environment as a whole
3. Assist with the introduction of new recycling and waste reduction systems and services

 

The ZWE is made up of 6 units with a different unit taught each year so Northland children will have received all 6 units by the time they leave primary/intermediate school. There is an option of having one 30-45 min lesson per class on what we can all do to reduce our rubbish bag.

 

Benefits of the ZWE programme:

• Work books are given to each student - includes optional homework to involve parents
in the programmes.
• Ensures that all children of a specific age receive exactly the same units each year.
• All schools in the Far North and Whangarei areas receive the same information.
• The programme is updated each year to link with the current school curriculum.

 

Zero Waste Education Units:

• Reduction                                             Year 3 & 4
• Reusing                                                Year 3 & 4 

• Recycling                                              Year 5 & 6 
• Composting                                           Year 5 & 6 
• Resource Sustainability                             Year 7 & 8 
• Water Conservation                                Year 7 & 8 

 

 

Educators
Our Educators are trained teachers who know how to make Zero Waste Education fun and stimulating for the children
 

Sue Woods
Far North Educator 		 Anna Murphy
Whangarei District Educator		 Laura Posinkovich
Far North Educator


 

 

 

 

Education Extras
Assisting the school to achieve zero waste is not only about student education. Eco Solutions also provide assistance and resources to the school staff.

 

School Managing Waste
We meet with a group of children, teachers & the caretaker to put in place systems that would save the school on their current waste disposal charges.

 

Vermiculture
Each school is encouraged to set up a worm bin in the school that would eventually manage all of the food scraps, green waste and the non recyclable paper that the school produces.

 

Workbooks / Timetabling
The staff are given a copy of the unit of work during the term, previous to the teaching taking place and would be notified of their times and dates the term prior to the visit. All children will be supplied with workbooks and or worksheets for completion.


For more information on:

• Environmental education in schools - click here
• Setting up recycling in your school - click here
• Waste minimization in your school - click here
• Waste audits in schools - click here

 

Education Resources
Eco Solutions has various educational resources available for public use. The resources compliment the education modules and are available for schools as to compliment their curriculum. These resources include:

• Sustainability Education Resource Kits
• DVDs – for an outline of each DVD please contact us
• The Slash Trash DVD/video
• Revolution With No Guns DVD
• Wa$ted! DVD
• Time for a Change DVD
• The Future of Food DVD
• An Inconvenient Truth DVD
• Wal-Mart—The high price of a low cost DVD
• Compost Bins & Worm Farms
• Bokashi

 

Eco North News
Eco North News is emailed out to all schools in the Northland region. Eco North News promotes the sustainable work happening in our region by schools and community groups. It is sent out once a term. We welcome input and photos from schools and organizations.

 

To see the Eco North News from 2009

Click here and here for schools
Click here and here for general
For more information regarding our resources please contact us

 

Carbon Zero Programme
This is a national program that rewards schools for collecting paper and cardboard with native trees for the school. The Paper 4 Trees programme is currently being run in 1049 schools throughout the New Zealand (out of a total of 2450 schools NZ-wide).

 

Once a school decides to participate the school is given:

• Sponsored recycling bins for paper & cardboard
• 3 bales of paper or card = 1 x native tree, grass or shrub

 

The bins and trees are all sponsored - there are no costs to the school. P4T helps reduce waste but also generates carbon credits. The Northland P4T programme would produce enough carbon credits to cover approximately 160 vehicles. Note: Planting 23 trees equates to compensating emissions for one car doing an average of 10,000km per year.

 

For more information on:
• Ten steps to success with Paper4trees - click here
• How to join - click here
• Recording chart - click here