Creating forest walks in schools, rebuilding gardens devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle and supporting local communities with food grown by students are just some of the projects to receive a share of $50,000 from Countdown’s Growing for Good grants this year.
Ten schools across Aotearoa with ‘climate-clever’ ideas to address climate change and boost sustainability are set to receive Growing for Good grants to make their winning concepts a reality. Winners include Hastings kura kaupapa Te Kura o Pakipaki, which plans to teach children and the local community about creating healthy waterways through planting in tune with nature, and Auckland’s Favona Primary School, whose students want to create a bush walk on school grounds to absorb carbon dioxide and provide the perfect setting to learn about our native plants and trees.
Woolworths New Zealand’s head of sustainability, Catherine Langabeer says it’s humbling to see the younger generation so motivated to protect the environment and looks forward to seeing their ideas make a real difference in their communities.
“This is the fifth year we’ve offered our Growing for Good grants, and it’s really heartening to see the – literally growing – impact this is having across the motu, restoring our natural environment and providing opportunities for students to get hands on with projects that provide food, areas of beauty and habitats for wildlife,” she says.
Other grant winners plan to provide homegrown healthy food for their schools and local communities, make better use of organic waste and rainwater, and restore forests and gardens hit by the recent devastating weather events. Judges selected entries that were well thought-out and addressed a need in the wider community.
“The tamariki we see participating in the programme show real diligence, imagination and determination to make our world a better place, and these are exactly the characteristics we need to help solve some of our most pressing global challenges, like climate change and food security,” Langabeer says.
