Whanganui schools receive funding towards sustainability projects

Brunswick School received funding in 2023 to increase the size of their lavender garden and purchase a still to produce lavender oil for creating sustainable products to sell to the community.

Horizons Regional Council has awarded 25 grants to Enviroschools with environmental and sustainability projects for 2024.

The Pat Kelly Enviroschools Action Fund supports sustainability projects from Enviroschools in the Horizons region.

Horizons senior environmental educator and Enviroschools regional leader Sarah Williams says the council received 31 applications, seeking a total of $23,000.

“We were pleased to see applications from across the region with all districts represented.

“This year we have seen an increase in projects linked to food sustainability with schools and centres focused on vegetable gardens, purchasing of tunnel houses to increase growing time, especially for those in colder areas of our region, the planting of fruit trees and creation of composting systems.

“With 112 Enviroschools in the region, we strive to fund as many projects as we can, as sometimes just a small amount of money is all it takes to kick a project off.

“This year we have also launched an additional fund, to support those schools and centres that are not part of the Enviroschools programme. Our Environmental Education Grant is open all year round to help kick-start action projects with a focus on biodiversity, biosecurity, and water quality. Details of this are available on our grants and sponsorship section of our website.”

The local recipients of the 2024 Pat Kelly Enviroschools Action Fund are:

• Brunswick School (Whanganui) – to refurbish their composting area
• St George’s School (Whanganui) – to create a composting area with worm farms to tackle their organic waste

There are 112 Enviroschools across the Horizons region, from early childhood education centres through to the primary and secondary schools.

Enviroschools are highly engaged in a wide range of environmental actions and sustainability practices such as waste, biodiversity, transport and social justice.

More information on the Enviroschools programme can be found at: https://www.horizons.govt.nz/HRC/media/Media/Environmental%20Ed/Enviroschools-Snapshot-Booklet-2022.pdf.