Find out more about the winner of the award, Ōpunake Community Kindergarten, and its work in empowering tamariki to take action to protect and restore the environment.
Winner
Ōpunake Community Kindergarten - For empowering tamariki to take action to protect and restore the environment.
The kindergarten is the only early childhood centre in the region to achieve Green-Gold Enviroschool status. Tamariki have helped built a food forest, they grow their own food, help reduce waste and clean-up the Ōpunake beach.
Centre manager Danni Newsome says: “Focusing on the environment is really important for us at kindy. A big part of our vision is empathy and aroha for Papatūānuku (Earth mother), just fostering that with our tamariki. They come to kindy with the seeds of that knowledge and then we just go from there and build on it.”
Highly commended
WITT/Te Pūkenga
For their groundbreaking Pest Operations courses which demonstrate a dedication to environmental preservation and education. This unique training programme has seen numerous students successfully securing employment in local conservation efforts, driving regional skill enhancement and paving the way for a more ecologically aware and engaged community.