Students take on challenge
Five Western Bay of Plenty high schools will compete in the regional finals of Enviro Challenge 2012 - an education-for-sustainability programme to develop world-class sustainability leaders. At the event, held at Papamoa College on April 2, schools will demonstrate sustainability initiatives in areas such as waste, travel, energy and water use and the school's carbon footprint.
Two of the eight ambassador students selected on the day will travel to Rio De Janiero in Brazil for the world's largest sustainability conference, Rio+20. They will be part of the New Zealand Youth Delegation and showcase the sustainability solutions of young New Zealanders to the rest of the world. Enviro Challenge is funded by the Enviro Challenge New Zealand Charitable Trust, with support in the Bay of Plenty from Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Envirostate. Western Bay finalists are Bethlehem College, Aquinas College, Te Puke High School, Katikati College and Papamoa College.
More information can be found at www.envirochallenge.org.nz
Rena report available
A report on the experiences of volunteers who helped clean up oil following the grounding of the cargo ship Rena in October is now available. The research project was conducted in collaboration with the University of Waikato, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Bay of Plenty Regional Council to provide an insight into the volunteer experience and to assist with future volunteer planning and volunteer response efforts. Bay of Plenty Regional Council website: www.boprc.govt.nz/sustainable-communities/rena-oil-spill-volunteer-hub
Race on to read books
Katikati College students celebrated New Zealand Book Month and kicked off the Great New Zealand Book Race this week. The book race is a six-month social networking literacy project intended to encourage New Zealand teens to read and review works by local authors. Once a book is read, it is passed from hand to hand until it reaches students at Christchurch's Papanui High School. The same race will be held in reverse, with books by Christchurch authors making their way to Katikati. For more information on the Great New Zealand Book Race visit www.greatnzbookrace.co.nz