Port Chalmers School

Port Chalmers School sing their songToday it was our absolute pleasure to visit the Port Chalmers School near Dunedin. These guys really have got it going on!

Upon our arrival the whole school turned out to sing us a song. And this wasn't any old song either they have written it themselves called - 'We don't want to leave a footprint on the earth'. Good stuff.

Maybe there's some other schools out there that have a similar song or would like to give this one a go too?

The Port Chalmers School joined the Enviroschools program some time ago but they've gone one step further and set up their own 'Enviro Groups' to work on a project they've called Planet Footprint. This project involves the whole school and addresses the question: How can we reduce our footprint on the world? How indeed! The Port Chalmers kids have identified that:

1. The earth's natural resources are finite;
2. People use natural resources in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes;
3. The imbalance between human needs and wants can explain much of the earth's environmental issues; and
4. There are many things that we can do as individuals that will help reduce the stress on the earth.

Check out their wiki at http://planetfootprint.wikispaces.com

The Port Chalmers School garden: The old swimming pool has been turned into an amazing edible garden.Much like our Be The Change campaign they've come up with a bunch of things people can do - and the kids are pledging to do many themselves - to reduce their footprint on the planet. They're pledging to do things like walk to school, watch TV less, and turn off lights when leaving the room. Great to see that it's not only us adults that can make a difference!

Looking forward to seeing some of these ideas for kids on the Bright Ideas page!

Today was the day when the whole school was out working on Planet Project so our visit was well timed.

Amongst other things they have a an edible garden complete with composting and worm farms, community action, an experimental laboratory looking at ways to make environmentally friendly household cleaners, a local botany research project depicted in an amazing nature mural and an environmental action animation project!

Envirogroup household cleaner: The Port Chalmers School enviro group is experimenting with making eco friendly household cleaners.Amazing stuff!!

We set up our displays, did a presentation, and showed a LOT of kids through the bus. The bus got a good going over and we signed up a few Port Chalmers kids on the website … welcome to you all!

All in all - a good day and I think the future of Port Chalmers is in good hands.

See more pics here

Checking out the bus: The Port Chalmers School kids checking out the bus form the inside.