Students' Environmental Studies win Film Award

Eight students from Devon Intermediate School have won a national movie challenge that was held as part of Conservation Week.

The students filmed their participation in Puke Ariki’s 60 Springs education for environmental sustainability programme at Pukekura Park, and entered it into the Environmental Monitoring and Action Project movie challenge – walking away joint winners with Otama School in Southland.

“They were blown away when they realised they had won,” says their teacher Danielle O’Connor.

“We had four groups of students who entered a movie of their studies in Pukekura Park, each studying different types of fauna – fish, frogs, insects and birds – and it was the fish group who won.”

The winning students are Abby Dingle, Alexander Fraser-Chapple, Ashleigh Allen, Jayde Nahi, Mackenzie Horsfield, Natalie Peterson, Nicki Mangu and Te Hira Peeni.

Miss O’Connor says the children are enjoying the opportunity to work in Pukekura Park every second week as they examine local environmental issues.

60 Springs is Puke Ariki’s school-based programme that aims to develop students’ ideas for solving local and global environmental issues. The programme takes its name from the 60 springs that feed into Pukekura Park.

60 Springs is sponsored by Taranaki Regional Council and Shell New Zealand. Rob Jager, Shell New Zealand Chairman says: “Shell is interested in being part of a world-wide effort to encourage ideas around sustainability and how people can think more creatively about environmental challenges.”

Currently 60 Springs is in the pilot stage with Devon Intermediate, but Manager Puke Ariki Bill Macnaught says the goal is to roll it out to other intermediate and secondary schools.

“It’s fantastic both for the Devon Intermediate students and the 60 Springs programme that the students have received national recognition through their environmental studies,” says Mr Macnaught.

“Right now 60 Springs has a very practical, hands-on approach, but we plan to develop it so that it also takes in the long-term aspect of environmental management.”

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