Media Release : Bay of Plenty Schools Tackling Environmental Challenges
Over 200 senior students from 19 Bay of Plenty High Schools are taking part in a unique education programme to find
solutions to the environmental challenges faced in their region.
The education programme entitled Enviro-Challenge was developed in Rotorua and it is now offered to all high schools
throughout the Bay.
Teams of up to 15 students from each school take part in a coaching session to prepare for the competitive workshop run
in their district. A winning school will be decided at each workshop and one student from every participating school
will be selected for the ambassador programme, including a 3-day environmental education trip to Wellington.
As part of the programme the students are required to present an environmental review of their school with a range of
costed recommendations for improvements. Each team prepares a display poster highlighting the electricity crisis faced
in New Zealand along with their solution for an alternative energy source and what its contribution should be to the
national supply. One student from each school represents a local stakeholder from the tourism industry in a press
conference about New Zealand’s clean green image and how we can sustain it. The student is required to contact the
person they are representing and to gauge their opinions so that they accurately represent them on the day when they
take part in a real press conference setting. The workshop also includes a team recycling race and a quiz testing
general environmental knowledge.
ENDS