2018 Impact Program Update - A Year of Change Makers

2018 has been another great year for Sustainable Taranaki's Impact program, with 143 youth undertaking 15 fantastic student-led sustainability projects throughout the Taranaki region. We have been impressed by the creativity and dedication of the youth we work alongside. These youth are not only undertaking practical real-world improvements in their local environment and communities, but through the program they are empowered to know that they can be the change makers of the future.

Many thanks to our key funders Ministry of Youth Development for their support to make this empowering experience available to Taranaki youth. And ngā mihi nui to Oranga Tamariki and the many local project partners, sustainability champions, teachers, and supervisors who have supported us. Your time and knowledge is much appreciated in supporting young people to create local sustainability solutions in our region.

This year we had a number of great new project ideas from youth, such as a bike maintenance day by the NPBHS Green Team to encourage sustainable transport, and a pest trapping project at Katere Ki-Te-Moana Marae initiated by Oranga Tamariki youth. We also saw some fantastic videos being created by students. Check out Egmont Village School's water conservation video and Devon Intermediate’s rubbish bin sculpture video

2018 Impact Program Participants

Egmont Village School
Inglewood Primary
Spotswood College
Norfolk Primary
Devon Intermediate
Pātea Area School
New Plymouth Boys High School

Activity Centre
Manukorihi School
Oranga Tamariki
St Patrick’s Inglewood
Coastal School
Puketapu School
Hāwera Intermediate

Project Videos

Egmont Village installed a 1000l water tank to collect water for their school vege garden. NPDC are interested in using their water conservation video to educate the wider North Taranaki community.

Devon Intermediate students undertook a litter clean up and identified the area around their playground as having no rubbish bin. They secured support from their Principal to install an upcycled bin and made a great litter education video.

2018 Impact Youth Projects Summary

Beach And Litter Clean Ups 

Activity Centre, Devon Intermediate and Puketapu School wanted to reduce waste in their community. Each group participated in a litter cleanup and then undertook a waste audit to identify what the most common items are that are being thrown away or littered, to support education and changes by students.

Upcycling Projects

Devon Intermediate, Norfolk and Inglewood Primary, Coastal Area School, St Patricks Inglewood, Puketapu and Pātea Area School wanted create objects out of waste materials, in order to reduce waste going to landfill. Thought this they learned an appreciation of how things can be repurposed, and some great practical design and building skills.

Conservation Projects

Manukorihi Intermediate, Oranga Tamariki, Egmont Village Primary, Hāwera Intermediate, Inglewood Primary, Devon Intermediate, St Patrick's Inglewood and Activity Centre all created projects focused on conservation or biodiversity. These included weed control, pest management, water conservation, river monitoring and riparian planting.

Community Garden Projects

Spotswood College, Pātea and Coastal Area Schools wanted to help people in need by providing them with free produce. Alongside this they also learned about the idea of food miles and the impact of our food and purchasing choices on the environment.

Plastic Free July

In July this year the Impact team ran two events for Plastic Free July. First up we held an upcycling day as part of the YMCA school holiday program. Youth made a number of sculptures out of reclaimed plastics that were then collated to form a miniputt obstacle course.

The following Saturday, alongside Taranaki Enviroschools, Rethinking Plastic Revolution, Upcycle Taranaki, NPDC and Karen's Kits we held a youth Plastic Free July event at Puke Ariki. This showcased the opportunities there are for youth to lead the way in reducing the impact of single use plastics on the environment. On the day YMCA youth were interviewed for the TV show WhatNow, showcasing their learning and media skills.

Thanks for joining us on this Impact journey. We look forward to working with you in 2019!

Erin, Laine and the Sustainable Taranaki team.