About 15 schools gathered at the Edgar Centre, in Portsmouth Dr, yesterday to display the work they had done around sustainability.
Community organisations such as Town Belt Kaitiaki and Predator Free New Zealand that support schools in their work were also at the event.
"It’s very motivating because sometimes it can feel like they’re doing only very little, but when they get to see actually all the schools are doing similar things and thinking about this in a similar way - what we’re doing is contributing to a really big change in our community.
"It’s a really good way to empower the students to keep on making those changes and keep on thinking how can we work to make our communities more resilient and more sustainable," Dr Zink said.
Waikouaiti School year 6 pupil Sophie McWilliam’s dream is to become a film director.
Her teacher Jacqui Russell said she used her skill to direct a five-minute film that featured albatross and the environmental issues facing them - especially micro-plastics in the ocean.
Sophie submitted her film to an Experiencing Marine Reserves competition and won a four-day trip to the Poor Knights Islands.
The handmade albatross that starred in Sophie’s film was up for display at event.
