Worms turn pupils to conservation

At Kaurihohore School the worms are doing very well, thank you.
The school's worm farm and seed-raising project have seen it become one of 20 in Northland to share $20,000 for its efforts to foster excellence in environmental education.
School projects from energy-efficient olive harvesting to planting native trees to cut highway traffic noise will receive financial help through this year's Northland Regional Council Environmental Curriculum Awards.
Schools are eligible for up to $2000 each for their efforts to educate children "in, about and for" the region's environment, says the council's environmental education officer Susan Botting.
This year's 20 lucky schools will receive between $424 and $1800 each for a total of 21 projects.
"Once again, this year's projects are impressive, both in scope and quality. Especially pleasing is the increasing role that students are playing in planning and designing them," Ms Botting said.
Leslee Allan, principal at Kaurihohore School at Kauri, near Whangarei, said the awards enabled the school to develop several linked environmental projects.
A native garden was set up in the grounds with the school's first Environmental Curriculum Award (ECA) in 2004. Senior pupils tend the garden and the area has become a living nature study "room".
A worm farm started by junior pupils last year would be an invaluable resource in the seed-raising project this year's grant will go towards.
The school has a successful zero-waste lunchbox scheme although it took some time to be taken up fully. Parents and kids know that any waste which comes with lunch must be suitable as worm farm tucker.
"Before zero-waste was encouraged, lunchboxes brought around six pieces of rubbish per kid into the school," Ms Allen said.
The winning schools in this year's ECA round are: Dargaville Intermediate for its Budding Horticulturalists project ($821.15); Huanui College for its wetland improvement project ($1800); Kamo Intermediate to expand on its Islands of Life planting programme ($894.80); Karetu School for Well Water, the $500 award contributing to a NIWA stream health monitoring kit; Kaurihohore School for Seed Raising for Sustainability ($1300); Kerikeri High School for its heirloom seedling nursery ($750); Okaihau College for its Sensory Garden to be used by the school's special needs unit students ($1000).
Onerahi School received $500 for an irrigation system for its vegetable gardens and future planting expansion; One Tree Point School for one project, constructing storage bays for compostable materials ($850), and for a second project, South Side Seat - a quiet garden corner for reading and thinking ($250).
Opua School received $1500 for an incubator to encourage egg production and a honey extractor to help collect honey from the school's existing beehive; Oromahoe School for a sensory garden of unique biodiversity ($900); Otaika Valley School for a water supply to boost the long-term survival of the school orchard and gardens ($1061.54); Oturu School for an energy-efficient olive-picking system ($1105); Parua Bay School for more planting on its Wildlife Pathway link with the foreshore ($1100); Ruakaka School for its Let the Water Flow vegetable garden irrigation ($734.50); Ruawai Primary School for its Sustainable Gardening/Mahinga Kai project ($850); Tangiteroria School for an all-weather track in its native bush learning environment ($424.34); Totara Grove School for its vision of becoming a sustainable school ($1458.67); Umawera School for Nasty Noises, Fabulous Nifty Natives, planting native trees on the school's noisy boundary with SH1 ($1600); Whangarei Primary School for a shed to store garden equipment ($600).