Deputy mayor praises school on silver status

WGP 08Jul15 - TOKO school pupils with some of the school chickens.

Deputy mayor Alan Jamieson summed up the good work achieved through Toko School's Enviroschools journey with a single sentence at an assembly held at the school at the end of term 2.

"On behalf of the environment, we all thank you."

The assembly was held to recognise the pupils achievement in attaining a silver status in the Enviroschools programme, with some of the children leading the assembly, presenting a video looking back over their Enviroschool journey.

"I like the fact we are taking care of plants and animals and that we are doing things to make our school and our life more sustainable." Abbey Sextus (10), one of the enviro leaders at the school, says the school has been an Enviroschool since she first started, and the focus on the environment has become second nature to her. "We grow our own vegetables and fruit, which we then use to sell or cook and bake with, we collect the eggs from the chickens and we sell worm wee from our worm bins."

"We are only where we are because of the all the support."

Principal Kim Waite says there are many people to thank as the school has "gone on this journey," and adds that achieving the silver status is thanks to the drive and passion of the community, the staff and "most importantly, the kids, past and present".

Remembering starting with just two fruit trees, Kim says they now have a heritage orchard in the school grounds, and each year the pupils have come up with more ideas and more initiatives to continue their enviroschool journey.

Rachel Eckersley, Taranaki Enviroschools regional coordinator, says she and her colleagues have been "honoured" to work with the school on what she terms "the Toko School's enviro waka".