Eco classroom NZ's first

Students have steered the design of Hukanui School's new eco-friendly classroom Rebecca Harper looks at how the students have halved its carbon footprint.

Hukanui School children are putting their footprint or half a footprint on the map.

Students this week unveiled plans for the country's first eco-classroom, which will have half the carbon footprint of an ordinary classroom.

More than 100 Hukanui students have worked on the eco-classroom since 2005, researching eco-friendly building materials and working with Hamilton architect Antanas Procuta to ensure the design is as sustainable as possible.

The school has already raised $120,000 and is now looking to the community to help raise the other $120,000 needed to make the dream a reality.

It hopes to begin construction this summer.

Hukanui student and eco-classroom promoter Ryan Baker, 10, said the building would save money over time as well as benefiting the environment.

Molly Densem, 10, said she liked the project because it had never been done before.

"I've learned so much since I got involved, it's great for the environment and it could be a big hit around the world."

Wearing green caps and t-shirts and sporting green hair for the occasion, students gave a presentation on the project, which will be built to make the most of natural sunlight and heat.

Features include a solar water heating system for the school pool, ecofleece insulation made from wool and recycled plastic, and a concrete floor to absorb energy during the day and release it at night to keep the building warmer.

Outside there will be native trees, a nursery, vegetable gardens, bird feeders, beehives, two worm farms and compost recycling systems.

MC for the day, Sport Waikato's Matthew Cooper, applauded the school for its vision. "It's about sustainability and looking to the future. The kids are driving this goal, this dream of an eco-classroom," he said.

Guest speaker Malcolm Rands founded Ecostore 16 years ago and now his environment-friendly plant and mineral-based products are in every supermarket in New Zealand.

"Sustainability is about thinking outside the square. You need energy and vision, I congratulate Hukanui School, you are showing both," he said.

Mr Procuta said he enjoyed the unusual opportunity to work with children. "Children's thinking can be a lot broader. Sometimes their ideas are not practical, but they are exciting and we have to retain that excitement.

"You can see the learning they do now will last, so when they come to build their own homes or companies they will know the key things that make the building work with the environment."

- © Fairfax NZ News