Hon Chris Hipkins

Minister of Education

Hon Eugenie Sage

Associate Minister for the Environment

27 July 2018

PĀNUI PĀPĀHO

MEDIA STATEMENT

A new school litter reduction resource for 5-11 year olds will help children understand the impact of dumping litter in the environment, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said today.

Chris Hipkins launched the programme today at Plateau School in Upper Hutt.

Kiki Kiwi and Friends: The Travelling Trash, created by Keep New Zealand Beautiful and supported by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry for the Environment, is being distributed to primary and intermediate schools in Term 3.

“The Litter Less resource educates children on what they can do to keep rubbish out of the environment and what happens when we are careless and don’t put things in the bin,” Chris Hipkins said.

“Government support for Kiki Kiwi means all schools can access the resource online and continue to teach our children about the damage caused by littering and the importance of recycling and reducing waste,” Chris Hipkins said.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful identified a need to target litter reduction when two years ago KNZB volunteers collected enough rubbish to fill 120 rugby fields to half a metre high.

“In a recent study 75 per cent of New Zealanders agreed that they are responsible for reducing waste, but we remain largely disconnected from the effects of dropping litter or not disposing of items in the right way,” Eugenie Sage said.

“We all need to realise that when we drop things on the ground, especially plastics like water bottles and bags, they don’t just disappear. They end up somewhere, often in waterways or the oceans where they harm whales, turtles and seabirds.

“This programme empowers our young people to investigate the causes of, and to take action on, the environmental issues they feel strongly about. I believe it will lead to long-term behaviour change,” Eugenie Sage said.

Kiki Kiwi and Friends is being distributed to schools from 30 July. An online audio storybook version and all the programme resources are available for download at www.knzb.org.nz.

ends

© Scoop Media