Te Puna Kindergarten

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Today we came together with our whānau and community to celebrate a special milestone in our Enviroschools journey and officially open our new vegetable garden.

Over the past year, our teaching team has been exploring how the Enviroschools principles of sustainability, diversity, empowerment, community, and Te Ao Māori are reflected in our kindergarten. One exciting outcome of this learning has been the creation of our vegetable garden—a project planned and designed with the ideas and contributions of tamariki, whānau, and kaiako.

Using recycled materials generously donated by members of our community, including the Takitimu North Link Project, Debbie and Dave, our vision became a reality. With the support of Kopi That Construction, the garden beds were built and are now ready for planting, learning, and growing.

We were honoured to receive our Enviroschools certificate in recognition of our mahi and to celebrate alongside our whānau and community. This project is a wonderful example of what can be achieved when we work together with a shared vision for sustainability and learning.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed their time, resources, ideas, and support. We can't wait to watch our garden—and our tamariki—flourish in the years ahead. 🌿💚

Something exciting is taking shape at kindergarten this week. After the ground was levelled our wonderful handyman Kopi from is making our garden plans come to life. Our grand opening for the garden will take place on Tuesday 16th at 9.30. Watch this space

A big thank you to Grower Direct for their very kind donation of flowers for our new flower bed. The tamariki had a great time installing wire for the peas to climb up and planting and watering all the plants. We can’t wait for the flowers to bloom !

As an Enviroschools kindergarten, everything we do is viewed through a sustainability lens — including the art supplies we use. Glitter is something everyone loves to sprinkle over their creations, but often little thought is given to where all that microplastic ends up.

Our kaiako Christine saved her eggshells, and together we had conversations with the children about microplastics and caring for our environment as we began crushing the shells. We decided we could make our own environmentally friendly glitter from the eggshells instead.

After lots of crushing, soaking the shells in dye, and leaving them to dry, over the next couple of days we had our very own glitter ready to use in our artwork. Best of all, if it ends up in the environment, that is okay — it is completely biodegradable! Enviroschools Aotearoa NZ

🌿 Half Price Kawakawa Balm – just $5! (50ml tubs) 🌿

It’s been a little while since we last made our kawakawa balm, and we still have some older stock we’d love to move on so we can create a fresh new batch with ngā tamariki.

Smells amazing and perfect for soothing skin, lips, and little scrapes – a natural favourite.

Pop in and grab yours while it lasts!