Children Show the Way towards a Better Environment

Kaipara’s environment will be in good hands in the future if the enthusiasm of children at Matakohe and St Joseph’s Schools is any indication.

Room 4 at St Josephs School and Matakohe’s Room 2 each won $500 from Kaipara District Council for their enthusiastic efforts in a poster competition to publicise Kaipara Refuse’s fortnightly kerbside bag recycling collections in Dargaville and Mangawhai and along the route between, starting on 8 September 2008.

Following the contest which saw shop windows festooned with colourful posters promoting recycling and the new service, a Kaipara District Council representative called at the two schools to see how the children felt about rubbish and recycling, and how they put their views into practice.

They strongly supported recycling and felt that in addition to the financial incentive offered by the competition, their posters were helping Kaipara’s environment. “We want to get more people listening and hopefully the whole world will start recycling”, a St Joseph’s student said.

A Matakohe student explained, “If we don’t recycle we are just going to need more landfills.”

Matakohe children studied recycling last term and the Room 2 students explained how the school set up a worm farm to utilize paper and food scraps, producing compost and liquid fertiliser which could be used in a school garden to grow vegetables.

They also re-use boxes, newspaper, and cardboard, while used worksheets are destined for paper mache “A Trash to Treasure” technology competition even had them making robots from rubbish.

They were especially concerned about the Kaipara harbour. “If we don’t do something it could get polluted and kill the dolphins and fish,” one student warned, while others emphasised the risk plastics and bottles pose to marine life.

St Joesph’s has a worm farm which, in addition to reducing waste, helps the gardens and funds environmental studies.

The school also has student Eco Warriors who collect paper for re-use along with food scraps and rubbish as well as looking after the worm farm and its products.

Some paper gets three lives by being gathered up for reprinting on the reverse side and then is eventually sent for re-making into new paper.

Children at both schools felt that their studies were helping influence how their families looked on topics like waste and re-cycling.

St Joseph’s will put its $500 into environmental education and sustainable gardens while Matakohe has yet to decide how to spend its prize. However, a video camera was high on the Room 2 wish list.

And the children won’t let Kaipara District Council sit on its laurels after introducing recycling, saying they want more public education about recycling, rubbish disposal and environmentally friendly practices.

Matakohe children want the council to supply more rubbish bins and to stop indiscriminate rubbish dumping. Also to “put signs up saying Kaipara is a rubbish-free zone.”

St Josephs, which has collected rubbish around town, is also concerned about indiscriminate dumping and the children promoted the idea of monthly “clean-up days”, in which schools other groups and the community would take part.

Kaipara Mayor Neil Tiller has praised the children’s efforts and commitment, saying, “If they continue to put these ideals into practice and pass them on to their parents, Kaipara can look to a bright environmental future. Recycling and rubbish reduction is something the whole community needs to be involved in.”