Spotswood College: the big dive into sustainable initiatives
We met with Aly Scott, Curriculum Leader for Inquiry Learning at Spotswood College - Te Kura Tuarua O Ngāmotu, to discuss their sustainable actions and programmes empowering rangatahi to build a sustainable community and future.
Kia ora Aly,
Thank you for taking the time to discuss with us! Could you please tell us about the sustainable actions and programmes happening at Spotswood College?
Since 2020 Spotswood College has implemented the following initiatives:
The Designery
The Market Garden
The Chicken Farm
The Apiary
The Orchard
Trapping lines
Waste management overhaul
Working with Trees for Survival Trust
Riparian planting in our farm gully
Removal strategies for gambusia in the waterways on-site
Working with the Marfell Community Garden
Could you explain what initiatives the College has in its own backyard?
Spotswood College has a fully functioning market garden and chicken farm and apiary.
As part of our circular economy established by young enterprise students, students can sell their produce and eggs to gain funding to keep the garden going. The learning opportunities are authentic and essentially pay for themselves.
The composting system designed by our junior inquiry students supports soil health for successful outcomes in the garden.
We also use the produce to create products for the designer. You can see below some examples.
What is The Designery and how are the students involved with this project?
The Designery is a self-sustainable creative space that supports students’ initiative and connects internal talent with our school’s wider community. It is a creative collective and a design store for student-made products.
The Designery was founded by a group of Year 13 YES students who have created a legacy with the vision of a student-run business that creates a creative and entrepreneurial circular economy.
The Designery is located just outside the Spotswood College on South Road.
What local environmental organisations do you work with?
We work with the Marfell Community Garden by volunteering, planting, weeding, bed preparation and mowing.
We also work with Trees for Survival Trust by raising native seedlings in special purpose-built shade houses, when they are old enough we do a riparian planting day in a community or farm location given to us by the trust.
We are an Enviroschools Bronze award school and work closely with them on new and ongoing initiatives and thoroughly support the Enviroschool’s kaupapa.
Spotswood students enjoying their time spent at the Marfell Community Garden!
How do the students shape the programmes?
All of these projects have been projects that have been ideated, designed and managed by students in our Junior Impact Inquiry programme.
All students at Spotswood in the junior school take inquiry for 4 hours per week. This is student-driven project based inquiry learning.
We largely base it on the global sustainability goals and get the students to think globally, locally and personally about the issues that matter to them. We encourage students to undertake a project that they are passionate about and sits within their interests, personal skills and talents.
What would you say to another school wanting to do similar initiatives?
I would suggest that they get in touch with Enviroschools and begin to create a sustainability plan with them. They have a wealth of knowledge and resources to tap into and they have an amazing network of schools at different stages of their sustainability journey.
Of course, Spotswood College is more than happy to accept visiting schools to share our school’s journey in sustainable curriculum integration!
