They took part in a hui run by Waitaki Enviroschools last Friday for seven local schools.
Enviroschools is a nationwide programme in which schools commit to a long-term sustainability journey.
School pupils connect with and explore the environment, then plan, design and take action in their local places in collaboration with their communities.
Waitaki Enviroschools facilitator Chantal Barnes said the focus in 2024 had been seeing the environment through the eyes of a native bird, the blue penguin.
"So for the pupils to see what challenges the penguins face and to learn that penguins have been here for millions of years and we’ve only been here for a few hundred," Mrs Barnes said.
The Waitaki hui last week was staged at Whitestone City and the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony.
The seven primary schools participating were part of a record six hui for Otago schools in term 4.
Mrs Barnes said the main goal was for primary children to learn that through taking action, they could help create a healthy, peaceful and sustainable world.
"It’s about health, not just for ourselves, but all the ecosystems and all the animals that live on this planet."
This included gaining insight into "how impactful" human activities were on everything else around them.
The 45 Waitaki school pupils were split into groups at Whitestone City and, in a series of activities, learned how New Zealand was formed and the impact of human settlement, Mrs Barnes said.
At the penguin colony, sessions included creating homes and nests for the penguins, learning about predator and prey tracking and planting.
The number of Waitaki schools participating had doubled from 2023, which was very pleasing, Mrs Barnes said.
Waitaki Enviroschools facilitator Lucianne White said the collaboration with the penguin colony’s educator Henry Elson and colony staff provided "rich and valuable" information to the pupils about the penguins’ living landscape and environmental sustainability.
