The school went on a field trip around various waste management centres in Oamaru last week.
They visited the Oamaru Transfer Station, the penguin colony, the resource recovery park, the community gardens, and Waitaki Boys’ High School’s creek restoration project and their compost hub.
The trip tied into their learning from the first two terms about sustainability, Papakaio School enviroschools lead teacher Nikki Wheeler said.
"Our goal has been to empower our students to understand but also actively contribute to some positive change.
"We just want to instil a really deep understanding of sustainability for our kids and give them the tools to make a difference, both locally and globally."
They started with a concept-based inquiry into their own waste.
This led them to questions about the local community’s waste management and where their waste ends up.
The hands-on field trip allowed the pupils to witness the waste’s journey.
This learning also prompted the school to begin seeking alternatives to its current practices and trying to find other ways to be sustainable.
They have already begun implementing strategies they learned on the trip in their own school.
The school has "almost halved" the amount of rubbish it sends to landfills by separating the recycling, Miss Wheeler said.
It has also revamped its worm farms by adding bokashi food waste.
