Eco Academy

The South Coast Environment Society is working towards offering a senior student / adult training course in Riverton in partnership with our local high school Aparima College.

The State Secondary school is only two blocks away from the Societies ‘South Coast Environment Centre’, is a registered NZQA provider and is fully supportive of the concept. Last year two acres of vacant school land began to be developed as a school orchard with the student’s involvement.

We have four qualified teachers on our committee who presently all teach part time at the local high school in a variety of subjects but all with a passion and expertise in environmental education.

There are limited NZQA standards on environmental education available and we have the capacity to write new NZQA units of work for submission on much wider environmental topics then presently offered in NZ.

We have extensive resources to support this initiative within and through the Centre which has been running successfully for nearly 12 years.

These resources include large ‘living’ collections of heritage vegetables and heritage fruit trees, an Aparima Nursery Enterprise growing local natives sold cheaply for restoration projects, a not-for-profit organic food shop and wide appropriate technology resources and skills.

We have extensive natural resources all, uniquely, within 2 km of the Centre and College:

Sandy beach, rocky shore, stream, river, estuary, sea; native bush reserve, urban township, farm land.

As well as a 16 ha wetland reserve, a community garden / orchard, a two acre 15 year old Permaculture food forest and an organic market gardener.

As we are only 30 minutes drive from Invercargill we believe our location is perfect for such a course.

We are grateful to Aparima College who are financially supporting the Professional Development of two of our Societies educators Robert and Robyn Guyton to attend the NZEEA conference in Dunedin this month where we hope to make links with NZ wide resources to make an eco-academy training course in Riverton a reality.

We would be grateful of any suggestions or support you or your organization can offer us for this important initiative.

Please contact us:

South Coast Environment Society 154 Palmerston Street RIVERTON 9822

Email: office@sces.org.nz Web site: www.sces.org.nz