Nature is Everywhere for Whanganui Intermediate

Whanganui Intermediate is expanding its existing forest school programme and hopes to inspire younger generations to incorporate knowledge of the natural environment in their everyday life.

Mazda Ambassadors’ Ruud Kleinpaste - the Bugman and Dr Riley Elliott, Shark Scientist visited Whanganui Intermediate to talk to students and teachers to promote environmental literacy and the importance of sustainability and how they can help to look after the environment and its living organisms.

The visit is part of the TREEmendous Education Programme for 2021, an initiative from the Mazda Foundation.

With the overall theme that “Nature is Everywhere”, Whanganui Intermediate is adding some extra science to their “forest school”. This will be achieved by starting an ongoing BioBlitz where all organisms found will be identified and reported on through iNaturalist – an online platform. This reporting will include assigning each organism to their “role” in nature, known as “ecosystem services”.

Kleinpaste and Elliott demonstrated to the students how we can learn from nature and the important role that bugs and sharks play in our ecosystem and how they all impact our environment.

Kleinpaste also spent a day in the nearby Lismore Forest with students and teachers to identify ways to incorporate the environment as an immersive part of the curriculum so that students can reconnect with nature and together with teachers embark on a nature-literate journey.

Dani Lebo, Whanganui Intermediate Forest School teacher says “The learnings from this Forest School project can be used as a template to enhance the school ground’s environment through native planting. We are passionate about expanding our existing forest school programme, which takes students off-site to explore the local bush area and embrace the outdoors. We hope to inspire the younger generation to incorporate knowledge of the natural environment in everyday life.”

Whanganui Intermediate is one of five winning schools from around the country that each received $1,000 to go towards an environmental project along with 200 native trees from Trees That Count for the school grounds.

Kleinpaste says it is great to be working with students and teachers who are already engaged in existing environmental education at their schools.

“Children are eager to learn about how they can continue to protect and develop their understanding of the environment. It is great I get these opportunities to pass my knowledge down to the younger generations.”