Bush School Eco Plan:

Ongoing update from Whaea Nic:

In progress:

LEGO model

Find helpful people to advise regarding planting succession and a commemorative tree.

Overview:

As today was the final bush school of an 11-week term, fatigue was high, leading to shorter attention spans. To maximise productivity, we used the first block to do the bulk of the lesson while energy levels were high. During this window, the group successfully measured the bush dimensions using footsteps to scale our LEGO model. We also did an initial visual audit to document the surrounding bush environment, noting the types of trees and birdlife present. We will add to our timeline display in some form next term, along with doing a leaf litter sample.

We spoke about the off-site experience, and we looked at the Arataki website and options. We all agreed between two different options (plant power and carbon sinking). I will email the contact person to see if they could be combined or done on the same day.

We also noted that we currently have 142 native trees and plants ready to be planted in term 3. We need many more, so I will look at a supplier for this over the holidays. Over the day, many of the kids dipped in and out of the LEGO build. I am finding this is a great chill spot for those that need it, and great discussions are happening over the LEGO table.

We managed to put up the visual ‘timeline’ with our why. Next term we will work on adding what we do have currently as per our green-score data collection. 

Thursday, 2 July:

During today's parent-teacher conferences, the project plan was presented to families. The response was entirely supportive, with a notable suggestion from one mum. She suggested I get the current Bush School students to plant a commemorative native tree with a dedicated plaque to mark their contribution to the project and our bush space. She suggested we consult with Te Kawerau ā Maki to identify a culturally and ecologically appropriate native species for our local environment. I think this is a wonderful suggestion and will follow this up over the holidays.