Wastewise in 2024

Thank you to our Wastewise leaders for 2024, Isla Hodge and Mila Sokolich. Wastewise have had a year packed with wide-ranging activities.

We began with a Wises Day in March at the Auckland Zoo, based in the education classrooms. The day was a time for planning and inspiring the student leaders and key members of our school-wide sustainability-mined groups; Wastewise, Kaitiaki, Healthwise, Digiwise, Travelwise and Predator Trapping. The programme included a guest speaker and a workshop. Christine Wang from Waiōrea Community Recycling Centre spoke in detail about the different ways the facility recycles, deconstructs and repurposes the items we no longer need. Christine’s talk was followed by a workshop from the Climate Club, facilitated by Rowan Brooks, a WSCW alumni.

Our groups used Wises Day as a time to formulate ideas for 2024. Students also had the opportunity to explore the amazing Auckland Zoo. We really appreciate the support of PJ Bickerstaff and his colleagues from the Zoo Education Team.

Wastewise have continued our long tradition of the Clothing Recycle. This year a group from the Year 13 Education for Sustainability class, which included one of our Wastewise leaders, organised the first Clothing Recycle as part of their assessment. Mila Sokolich and her EfS team did a great job of rehoming donated clothing.

Through the year we continued our termly Clothing Recycles, with the idea of keeping perfectly good clothing in the circle of life. As Christine from Waiōrea Community Recycling Centre told us at Wises Day, the majority of the donations to their Op shop are textiles. Some of these textile items could still have a life in our homes, while others are disassembled, buttons and zips removed etcetera by the volunteer team, so the textiles can be recycled.

As part of an ongoing kaupapa of native restoration and biodiversity enhancement, along with Kaitiaki and the Predator Trapping team, we were once again part of the planting on the banks of Waitītiko. In June, Wastewise supported students from the Life Skills class with planting on the plateau above the awa. Wethank Whaea Alice Heather for her facilitation of this event.

In August we joined in to celebrate with Whaea Alice Heather, who was the recipient of the Freshwater Champion Award, for her ongoing work with ākonga restoring the biodiversity around Waitītiko.

Our annual environmental sustainability conference held in August was fantastic. Green Jam is traditionally organised by Wastewise. However, a team from Kaitiaki joined in with the organisation and helped with leading the event.

Green Jam again this year was held in the Zoo Domes and education classrooms. About 170 students from schools around Auckland took part in workshops, and were inspired by speakers who all generously contributed their time. We even had music provided by our students, Nate Foskett and Harry Old.

Keen sustainability-minded WSCW students were involved in every stage of the conference. As well as inviting the schools and workshop presenters, students greeted and signed-in the attendees, registered students for the workshops and led the proceedings. Our students were keen to help assist younger students with the practical workshops, such as ‘Creative Mending and Upcycling’. They managed the set-up for the event of around 170 chairs, as well as an assortment of tables and stacked them away at the end. Again, we thank PJ Bickerstaff and the Zoo Education Team for the venue and their support.

In August a group of keen Wastewisers walked down to Waiōrea Community Recycling Centre to participate in a workshop on Zero Waste as part of the centre’s annual week-long festival. We really enjoyed hearing about the way items people do not want are repurposed, reconstructed and recycled.

This year, we reinstated our termly Sustainable Leaders Meeting, including all the environmental sustainability-minded student groups across the school, as well as our Enviroschools Facilitator from Auckland Council, Sean Winterbottom.

In October, as part of Recycling Week, Christine Wang, Centre Manager at the Waiōrea Community Recycling Centre, was guest speaker on the Terraces in the KHCL. Christine took the opportunity to launch the centre’s volunteer programme for students. The second event for the week was inspired by Xin and Adam from Creatives in Schools, and their work with Barbara Joseph’s textiles classes. We began to reconstruct offcuts of material into small bags, with a multitude of uses. This project, part of a bigger creative mending and upcycling initiative, is still a work in progress and will continue in 2025.

This year the senior Sustainability Award recipient was Isla Hodge for her ongoing commitment to Sustainability in the school through a long and active membership of Wastewise. Again, thank you to both Mila and Isla for their leadership and passion.

Wastewise now welcomes our new leaders for 2025 – Zariya Alibhai, Enzo Vivace, Maeve Gooder and Anya Skulic. We look forward to 2025, and all the inspiring Wastewise events.

PS to students – Wastewise is always keen on new members. We have a simple joining process; send our leaders an email, join the Wastewise classroom or simply turn up at a meeting! See the Whānau time notices for further info.

Marie Hickey – TIC Wastewise