Ngaruru Envirogroup

History

Since 2003, when Bayswater School became an Enviroschool, there has always been a dedicated enviro-group. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight they bring. The enviro-groups have played an active role in the Enviroschool award processes at Bayswater School. In 2017 the enviro-group of 2017, along with their peers, the staff, whānau, board of trustees and connected community members participated in a reflection process to reconfirm our school’s Green Gold status. The enviro-group has a strong connection to the environment and sustainability is part of their decisions and everything they do. During the process of progressing from Bronze, to Silver and onto becoming a Green Gold Enviroschool, the enviro-group has been instrumental in implementing many initiatives. Over the years the enviro-group has led tours within the school to show our journey and sustainability practices. The tours have included overseas teachers, visiting Enviroschools, Enviroschool facilitators, and fellow pupils.

Measuring Change and Taking Action

An enviro group is the voice of our whenua and our environment. We are proud of our Green-Gold status.

For our Enviro group, 2024 was a big year! We designed a new logo, gave ourselves a new name, fundraised with natural handmade products, and made a living wall all on top of other Enviro activities.

We named ourselves the Ngaruru Enviro Group or Ngaruru Crew for short. We wanted an identity that was specific to our turangawaewae. We thought that ngaruru was perfect as it means to thrive, flourish or to grow strong. We also liked how parts of the world spell out Ngā Ruru, which are moreporks and are seen as watchful guardians.

Our logo brought together elements that also tie in with the Bayswater Way. The pot represents our group and how we come together to protect what is valued. The intertwined koru are like clasped hands coming together, and support new beginnings, such as our relationships and our ideas. The harakeke represents whānau and tikanga as well as what grows from the whenua.

We fundraised by holding a number of stalls throughout the year selling environmentally friendly products that we made by hand at school. These included a creme cleanser, foot & hand scrub, foaming hand soap and lip balm.

We used household ingredients that wouldn’t add harmful chemicals to our environment or our bodies. Recipes were tried, altered and perfected before being added to our lineup.

The fundraising (alongside koha) went towards building a living plant wall at the end of the deck for students to enjoy. This was made with mostly recycled or repurposed materials and planted with a mixture of plants that we grew or propagated during the year.

Other activities last year included paper recycling, using collected water for plants where possible, planting native trees on the ridge and looking after our orchard.

This year, we will be:

setting up compostable food collection stations,
maintaining our warm farms and compost bin,
improving our paper and card recycling,
creating a fernery in an unused concrete space,
finding an efficient way to use collected water for our living wall.

Leadership Awards

At the prize giving ceremony a senior member of the enviro-group is awarded the Education for Sustainability Cup for sustained and outstanding commitment to supporting Bayswater’s enviroschool kaupapa. The Education for Sustainability badge is also awarded and placed on the Sir Peter Blake memorial board, naming students who have participated in a special project or made a commitment to our environmental practices.