Stratford Primary School

Stratford Primary School isn’t just teaching sustainability.

The urban Taranaki school with a roll of 455 is alive with gardens, orchards, bug hotels, chickens and bees which students engage with as part of daily life.

Feeding animals and worms, making compost, planting, handling waste and nature walks is interwoven with curriculum learning, and for 12-year-old students Elliotte Chadwick and Neriah-Joy Te Kawa, that’s what make their school so special.

“We’re like one big family. We all work together to get the jobs done. No one questions it, it’s just part of what we do,” says Neriah-Joy.

What now seems routine has really been years in the making.

The school enrolled in Taranaki Enviro Schools in 2007, marking the beginning of its environmental focus. The real momentum came in 2013 when curriculum support worker Marlene Lewis accepted a newly created environmental coordinator position.

At the beginning she says the job felt immense.

“There’s so much you can do. But you’ve got to take small steps and slowly add things, tweak things, and create an environment which everyone feels part of. That way, they want to look after it.  We try to encourage all tamariki to be kaitiaki, guardians of the environment. We all have a responsibility, and it starts with small actions that together can make a big difference” Marlene explains.

Neriah-Joy and Elliott are both ‘Tui Enviro Leaders’ which means they oversee school environmental activities and ensure all students are aware of why all the practices are in place.

One of the biggest areas of wastage in a school is its food disposal.

“We have been able to reduce the total amount of rubbish, so food scraps are collected and reused to feed our chickens which produce eggs, which we sell to make a profit which goes back into the school. It also feeds our compost which is used in garden plots around the school, and also to feed the worms,” Neriah explains.

Sustainable classrooms are also another feature, with the new entrant classroom in particular completely put together with items that were donated, purchased second hand, or sourced in nature.

Students are engaged in all aspects of the school’s sustainability efforts, with enviro leaders elected in each classroom from Year 5-8. Students are assigned to check through classes for switched off lights, taps turned off, and correctly sorted waste.

From a leadership perspective, school principal Jason Elder says students benefit from having responsibility, no matter what department.

He also notes that the schools’ environmental focus and sustainability practices contribute toward better learning outcomes overall.

“Traditional classroom settings don’t work for every child. Hands-on environmental activities like observing nature, planting vegetables or climbing trees to photograph tui, can spark genuine passion and engagement in those students,”

He says the outdoor enthusiasm then translates back into the classroom, motivating them to read, write, and learn more about topics they may have previously resisted.

Marlene even has a bucket of ‘Minecraft tools’ which she directs the kids to for certain garden tasks.

The popular video game is commonly known amongst young kids, but at Stratford Primary it’s played out a little differently.

“Sometimes students are a bit reluctant to get into physical work, but as soon as you say to them ‘go and grab those Minecraft tools, which could be a little pickaxe and shovels, away they go. If you can flip it back onto them and what’s relevant in their world, it becomes fun,” she explains.

Her biggest goal was to make sure once kids walked through the gate, whether they were new or existing students, and their families, that they felt supported and knew what our school was about.

“It’s a real kiwi school. We’ve got kids from all walks of life. Having a sense of belonging and purpose is key to building a good culture,” she continues.

Through a close working relationship with Taranaki Enviro Schools, the school receives guidance and resources which Marlene says is invaluable.

“They give freely of their time and knowledge. I only need to message them and say, ‘oh have you got a kit about native birds and eggs,’ and the next day it’ll be delivered,” she says.

The community network built around Stratford means teachers and staff feel supported, and ultimately the students can lead the school.

“At the end of the day, we’re about empowering the students. As teachers it’s nice to know that our students take the responsibility seriously, and they can only do that if they’re put in charge,” says Jason Dombroski, Associate Principal.

Practices at the school are regularly reviewed, and there are a number of enterprises such as beeswax wraps, beeswax candles, kawakawa balm and honey, reusable shopping bags, preserves, seasonal produce, eggs and plants.

These enterprises, along with the practices which have become embedded at Stratford Primary School demonstrate that environmental education at its best is where students can create, share, and inspire others in ways that unite the school as a whole.