Our Mission
Kids Greening Taupo enables young people to participate in real life projects with opportunities to connect in a culturally responsive way to their local environment and community, increasing biodiversity, student leadership and educational outcomes.
Whāinga matua
Ko tā Kids Greening Taupō he tūhono i te tamaiti ki te taiao mā ngā akoranga whai take, mā ngā akoranga ahurea kē anō. Mā konei e whanake ai te māramatanga o te tamaiti ki tōna taiao ake, ki tōna hāpori whānui anō hoki. He mea whakapakari te rerenga pāpori, te ārahitanga ākonga me ngā whainga ako.
Shaping the Future of Our Place, Now
Kids Greening Taupō connects our kindergartens and schools with a real-life teaching context based on the vision and work of Greening Taupō.
Based on the Collaborative Community Education Model (click here to download), our schools and community partners work together towards a shared environmental education goal. Through this journey, students lead restoration projects in the community which then offer many learning experiences outside of the classroom.
What we do:
Help kindergartens and schools to connect their tamariki to nature, teach about the unique native flora and fauna of Aotearoa and how we can protect/restore it, and to develop restoration projects in their school grounds or within walking distance
Provide teacher professional development workshops to increase their knowledge, skills and confidence to use the natural environment as a learning context
Support Student Leadership Teams, enabling these students the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills to organise and implement collaborative restoration projects and conservation events
“We love the Kids Greening Taupō programme because it grows kotahitanga / unity within our community, kaitoro / curiosity towards living things and kaitiakitanga / guardianship toward the land we belong to within the Tuwharetoa iwi. We are showing manaaki / care and making a difference for our generation and generations to come”
Kids Greening Taupō Overarching Goals
Education
To support educational organisations to provide students with authentic opportunities for engaging in restoration and conservation projects.
To support the development of student leadership and agency.
Environmental
To increase biodiversity in the Taupō District.
Collaboration
To support meaningful collaboration across participating organisations and stakeholders.
Cultural
To incorporate culturally responsive pedagogy into programme development.