Enviroschools Green-Gold a Hard-Earned Milestone
- Kidsfirst
- Sep 21, 2021
- 3 min read
And now there are two! Kidsfirst Karoro is the second Kidsfirst kindergarten to attain a coveted Enviroschools Green-Gold award, and one of only five to be awarded with recognition from the programme.
The award marks years of contribution from kaiako, tamariki, and whānau past and present, and was recognised at an event attended by whānau, past and current tamariki, and members of the community, alongside Greymouth Mayor, Tania Gibson, and Kidsfirst Chief Executive, Sherryll Wilson. Shared kai, a warm campfire, and Matariki celebrations rounded out the evening.
The Enviroschools programme encourages schools and early learning centres to embed environmentally and culturally sustainable practices and learning. A Green-Gold award is given to schools and early learning centres where tamariki make empowered, sustainable choices, and those choices lead the learning. The programme highlights experiential activities, where learning around environmental, cultural, social, and economic sustainability is highlighted.
For the kindergarten, the award comes as recognition of a number of years of hard work. Teacher, Raelene Johnson, says that the benefits were wide-ranging, and encouraged years of hard work, and collaboration, “Each project was part of a vision that we had for the whole place," she said, "we developed it with parents and whānau along the way. We held things like consultation meetings, and barbecues where we would get the parents to stick post-it notes on parts of the kindergarten that they had ideas for, or, if they thought they could add something of special interest to the children in our kindergarten.”
She says that collaboration is a vital part of the Enviroschools programme, and that it suits philosophies about child-led learning well, “We steered them in the direction they wanted to go, and they were very keen and interested. The children were very much a part of it, and very much led the projects.”
Getting whānau involved not only helps to create a lasting legacy for the kindergarten, but also allows everyone to learn valuable lessons, “The programme is also about sharing ideas," Raelene continues, "we use bokashi – which is a different way of composting, and people ask, ‘what’s bokashi?' – so we can tell them, and share that learning with whānau.”
Kidsfirst Lincoln was the first kindergarten in the Kidsfirst network to achieve a Green-Gold award, almost a decade ago, and they now sit at the inspirational status of 'beyond Green-Gold'. Head Teacher at the time, Jeanne Williams, recalls how the experience was beneficial for everyone involved, not just tamariki, "It's all about that sense of ako, in the teacher as well as the learner," she says, "it's based on tamariki's own interests, and it's real action learning – head, hands, and heart – making a difference in the community. Tamariki's world is right here, right now, so it's about how they can possibly make a change to their environment."
At kindergarten, there is always a push for sustainable practice. As kaitiaki of their spaces, our kaiako and tamariki know that there are myriad benefits in engaging with these practices, and learning that is led by the child can often be shaped into lessons about the world around them – something the Enviroschools programme understands, encourages, and integrates into the work they do.
It's also work that leaves a lasting legacy, Jeanne says, "For Lincoln, it's definitely something that is part of that place. They've since had new team members start there, and it's part of the job description, and attributes they look for in applicants – so they can support the kindergarten's kaupapa, and the work that's already gone into that place."
If you’re thinking about getting involved in the Enviroschools programme, and are interested in the benefits that it could offer your kindergarten and tamariki, visit their website today, and don’t hesitate to get in touch with your Professional Leader, who may already be working with an Enviroschools kindergarten, and can help you to get involved.