Media Release

27 November 2012

Wellington Zoo’s Bush Builders

Wellington Zoo’s Bush Builders programme has had a busy year, helping six Wellington schools to connect with nature. With a specialist Educator leading the way, the environmental education programme reaches its final phase this week.

Using the living world to excite and empower students to take positive action in their own communities, the Wellington Zoo initiative aims to connect urban students with their local flora and fauna.

“We have seen amazing uptake with Bush Builders this year,” said Chief Executive, Karen Fifield. “Our Bush Builder Educator has helped the schools to make connections in the wider community; from Berhampore Nursery to the Wellington Lions. These relationships help to strengthen community ties and help our young people to make their own connection with nature.”

Environmental literacy is built over three distinct phases; from a launch at Wellington Zoo, to biological surveying at the school, and finishing up with action days which create more biodiversity within the school.

“Being able to help these schools make a real connection with nature has been a real buzz,” shared Bush Builder Educator, Kim Tabrum. “This week, the team at the Zoo are helping out with the action days at the schools – working with the students to create spaces which encourage our native animals to move in.”

These spaces vary from weta hotels to lizard gardens, pollinator palaces to bird feeders. The team are also helping with landscaping to create environments for native animals to thrive.

“It will be great to see the output from this final phase, and how the school community keeps their environmental actions going in the future,” said Tabrum. “With a whole new year just around the corner, we’re looking forward to connecting more schools with their surrounding natural environments.”

The six schools involved with Wellington Zoo’s Bush Builder programme in 2012 are:

St Francis de Sales
Newtown School
Berhampore School
Ngaio School
Houghton Valley School
Wellington High School

Wellington Zoo is grateful for the support of the Thomas George Macarthy Trust, which funded the Bush Builder Educator role this year.

Wellington Zoo is a charitable trust principally funded by the Wellington City Council

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