High School Enviro-Challenge launched

A unique education for sustainability programme for high school students has been launched in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty.

The Enviro-Challenge programme trains high school students to undertake an environmental review of their school and implement changes to improve the school’s environmental performance.

Participating schools calculate their carbon footprint and make reductions through a wide range of environmental initiatives including improving energy efficiency and reducing waste.

Programme manager Steve Tierney says the most exciting thing about Enviro-Challenge is that the students make the difference by identifying and acting on environmental improvement opportunities in their own surroundings.

“The programme is all about real-world learning and learning by doing.”

The Enviro-Challenge programme culminates in a competition event between schools in each district that tests a full range of their environmental skills, including presenting business cases for undertaking environmental initiatives.

The programme is being run in 30 high schools throughout Auckland (North Shore City and Waitakere City) and the Bay of Plenty (Tauranga, Rotorua and Western Bay of Plenty).
There are plans to extend the programme to another 40 high schools in the wider Auckland region (Manakau, Franklin, Papakura and Rodney), Wellington City and the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

A unique feature of the Enviro-Challenge programme is the web based learning system that is totally paperless. Students receive direct coaching as well as on-line support for their
Enviro-Challenge projects.

The Enviro-Challenge programme is run at no cost to participating schools through sponsorship from local councils, energy trusts and Envirostate, an environmental consultancy company.

For more information visit www.envirochallenge.co.nz