1 School Programme Background Education for behaviour change is an integral part of waste management and minimisation. There is a need for general knowledge and understanding within the community about resource efficiency and broad waste management issues. Schools are hubs in the community and the education children receive influences their world views and behaviour as adults. New Zealand’s schooling sector is lead by the governments Ministry of Education (Ministry). The Ministry shapes the direction for education agencies and providers to meet the Governments goals for education. The schools system is separated into four sectors – early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education. There are a number of other agencies that also provide school-based education programmes, for example: Environment Southland; WasteNet Southland; the Heart Foundation; New Zealand Police; Road Safety Southland; Public Health South; Sports Southland, Paper 4 Trees and Department of Conservation. There are also non-school based education programmes available, for example Scouts New Zealand; GirlGuiding New Zealand and Duke of Edinburgh. The WasteNet Councils both collectively and individually have long provided information on solid waste and waste minimisation to schools. This has been through providing learning experiences (both in and outside the classroom), teaching resources (activities, fact sheets, lesson plans) and assistance to set up or improve their school recycling systems. The development of an overarching the Communication and Education Strategy - Waste is a Resource – has provided staff with direction and allowed for review of what services are provided to all Southland education facilities. Action 1.1 of the Southland Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2012-2018 relates to the provision of a schools programme. 2 School Programme Situational Analysis WasteNet currently provides the following services: Learning experiences – both in and outside of the classroom Teaching resources - lesson plans, activities, fact sheets, southland specific data Assistance to set up and/or improve their school recycling systems. The 2012/2013 school year applies to Terms 3 and 4 of 2012 and Terms 1 and 2 of 2013. Over 1,590 students from 64 classes received waste education during this 12 month period. The months of March and April 2013 had the highest number of students as this was when staff proactively approached Invercargill schools offering Kerbside Recycling and Rubbish Collection service lessons. No students were educated in January as the schools are closed for the holiday period. Of the 64 classes that received waste education, 72 percent were located in Invercargill District, 17 percent in Gore District and 11 percent in Southland District. All educational sectors received waste education – with 42 percent of the classes from the secondary sector, 29 percent primary sector, 21 percent early childhood and 8 percent tertiary. The majority of waste lesson were on the Kerbside Recycling and Rubbish Collection Service (22 percent) followed by the World of Waste Tour (19 percent), World of Waste Tour Recap (11 percent) and zero waste (also 11 percent). The other lessons provided include litter, composting, worm farming, recycling, clean ups, school lunches and general waste education. A graphical representation of this data is available in Appendix C. No records were kept of the number of teacher resources distributed during the year. Environment Southland held two teacher workshops (i.e. Enviroschools Teacher Workshop and Introduction to Education for Sustainability) during the year, in which they invited WasteNet to attend and inform participants of the waste educational resources that WasteNet provided. During these workshops contacts were made with Longford Intermediate (GDC), Fiordland College (SDC), Southland Girl’s High School (ICC) and Knapdale School (GDC). WasteNet Southland is working in collaboration with students (and teachers) from eight educational facilities to help them set up or improve on their recycling systems – Knapdale School (GDC), St Teresa’s School Bluff (ICC), Longford Intermediate (GDC), St Peters College (GDC), EduKids North (ICC), Makarewa Playcentre (SDC), Richmond Playcentre (ICC) and Aurora College (ICC). 3 School Programme Barriers The table below denotes the perceived barriers following interviews with key stakeholders. Target Audience Barriers Education Facilities Waste/environmental education is not a priority issue Students, Educators, Department Heads, Principals, Caretakers, Office Staff Waste education may only be studied every 2-3 years Awareness of the services offered (free) Hard to reach/engage Field trips – bus hire Tertiary sector, Secondary sector, wider school community Schools outside of Invercargill may be unwilling to travel (parents, care givers). to go on the Invercargill based WoW field trip Teacher training – cost for teacher relief External Groups Enviroschools, Fonterra (Milk in Schools), Public Health South Costs associated with setting up a School recycling system Internal Groups Customer Services, Mayor and Councillors, Contractors – Bond Contracts and Southland disAbility Enterprises Specific Groups Principals Association, Kindergarten Association, Dunedin Teachers College (Invercargill campus) 4 School Programme Where do we want to be? The Communication and Education Strategy – Waste is a Resource – identifies two goals (a) recognise that waste is a resource and (b) take action to improve our use of resources. The below table describes what these goals could look like: Goal 1. Recognise that waste is a resource Goal 2. Take action to improve our use of resources Students Students Understand concepts and terminology eg waste, Reduce, reuse, recycle at school resource, reduce, reuse, recycle, recovery, treatment, Reduce, reuse, recycle where practicable at home disposal, resource efficiency Teachers Aware that they create waste Support student initiatives Discuss the concept “waste is a resource” with their Lead by example family. Reduce, reuse, recycle in the classroom & wider school environment Teachers School Aware of the waste education services provided by Support student initiatives WasteNet The school has set a waste goal, that is monitored through a waste audit School Communicate their goal and progress with the wider Include a ‘resource smart’ update in their school school community. newsletter The school recycles its waste The school recovers its food waste The school correctly disposes of its residual rubbish 5 School Programme What will we do to get there? How? What we want Why? Activities Outputs Short term Intermediate Long term Outcomes Outcomes Outcomes Lessons - # and type of lessons delivered - # of participants Design and deliver waste Students receive - # of teaching hours educational sessions for waste education - Record feedback students Students recognise waste as a - # of requests for resources Educational Resources - # and type of resources resource Research, produce and Students and wider distributed disseminate locally adapted school community - # of training sessions waste educational resources to has raised waste The school - # of participants at training educators awareness sessions community takes responsibility for - # of educators on distribution Networking its waste and list Students take Build and maintain relationships - # of educators participating in Build and maintain a achieved its with educators, school responsibility for programme evaluations network of engaged community, external agencies waste goal - record meeting held with educators. waste by taking and organisations external agencies actions to improve their use of Campaign/Competition - # of schools participating - # of participants that met or resources Design, promote and deliver a bettered their goal Schools set up and school campaign/competition - # of participants that maintain a school for schools to achieve a waste communicated their progress to recycling system. minimisation goal. the wider school community 6 School Programme Branding & Message The Love Southland brand is the overarching brand for the WasteNet Councils. The identity is “Love Southland- put waste in its place!” The personality traits are positive, friendliness and the feel good factor from sorting your waste. The promise is that the people will be given guidance on ‘putting waste in its place’. The visual identify is the green colours which represent the green hills of Southland and symbols the environmental benefits for recycling. The continuous heart love brings in the emotive ‘feel good’ factor that comes with correctly sorting your waste. Norton and Wendall WasteNet has developed two cartoon characters – Norton and Wendall – to help present our waste messages to students. By using these characters they appeal to a child’s imagination while linking positive attributes to our messages in a fun and adventurous manner. The back story … Norton is an Alien from a small planet in outer space called Wastetopia. The residents of Wastetopia love waste as it is a very precious resource to them. The Wastetopians’ reuse/repurpose and recycling everything they can – nothing goes to waste. One day Norton was out flying his spaceship and noticed Wendall, a Southland school boy who was having difficulty managing his waste at school. Norton decided to travel to Earth to teach Wendall how to be more ‘resource smart’ and instil some of his Wastetopian values, such as how to reduce, reuse and