Sustainability is a big deal here at BestStart Whangamata!
We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and nga tamariki (children) are keen kaitiaki (caretakers)
Most recently we have introduced a worm farm into our actions towards sustainability. At meal times we have two bins for our waste. One is our para kai (food bin).
Nga tamariki are careful monitors and make sure that our leftover kai goes into the para kai. After lunch nga tamariki sit with one of their kaiako (teacher) and sort out which kai is worm friendly. Nga tamariki have been working with kaiako Noels, learning all about what we can and can't feed to our worms.
They love to put their fingers together in a cross and say "no way" when they find something in our para kai that isn't worm friendly. Once they have finished sorting, nga tamariki join a kaiako and feed our worms. We have learnt that the worms don’t like it when we touch them - That’s a job for a kaiako!
Two of our kaiako have chickens, so the food that can't be fed to the worms, is taken home and fed to the chickens. Sometimes the chickens say a big thank you by sending in some of their eggs for us to bake with. Yum! We are excited to find lots of ways we can be sustainable.
We would love to hear your ideas for things we can do.