Soil health, propagation and environmental impact are among the many topics Central Otago children focused their attention on earlier this week.

About 60 children in Years 5-8, from 10 schools, gathered in Omakau on Tuesday as part of an Enviroschools living landscapes hui.

The event, hosted at Omakau School, featured a range of activity stations where children learned about the environment, how it works and what they could do to protect it.

The Enviroschools programme, offered by the Central Otago District Council and funded through CO Reap, allows each school to design projects based on their own sustainability journey.

Learning about propagation are (from left) Vykris Henderson (10), of Omakau School, Isaac Ross (13), of Poolburn School, and Arthur Hatfield (9), of Clyde School. PHOTO: The Central App.

Those schools come together, as they did on Tuesday, with support from various facilitators, parents and school board members to continue their learning as a collective group.

Children who travelled to Omakau School for the day were from The Terrace, Poolburn, Alexandra Primary, Tarras, Ranfurly’s St John, Goldfields, Cromwell Primary, St Gerard’s and Clyde.

Lessons are based on five guiding principles, including sustainability, empowering children to drive change, engagement with the wider community, Te Ao Māori - engaging with iwi and understanding Māori perspective of the world and respect for diversity.

Taking a look at some of the taxidermy animals on display are (from left) Kato Breuk (9), of The Terrace School, Isabel Hyslop (11), of The Terrace School, Emma Corson (11), of St Gerard’s School, Shiloh Smith (10), of St Gerard’s School, and Sophie Crane (9), of Clyde School. PHOTO: The Central App.

Enviroschools facilitator Lucy Francke said stations set up around the school, both in and outside the classroom, gave children a chance to explore the various topics with hands-on activities.

The school’s large new tunnel house was also put to use on the day, where local farmer and parent Ben Gillespie taught the children about propagation using eco-sourced seeds.

An ecology session, hosted by a representative from ORC, featured taxidermy animals, a display that showcased how invasive animals can affect those that are native.

“The idea is for teachers and kids to get ideas to take back to their schools,” Lucy said.