In 2023 Auckland Council’s Sustainable Schools Team (SST) piloted a programme called Mana Ora: Students Decarbonising schools. The programme involved working with eighteen Auckland schools and kura to support student-led climate and sustainability action projects. The aim of the programme was that students (with guidance and support from teachers and SST) would identify, plan, and apply for funding for, action projects to be implemented within their schools and communities during the 2023 school year.
Mana Ora was supported by Auckland Council, Westpac NZ Government Innovation Fund, and Ministry for the Environment. A pool of funding for students’ action projects was included in the programme.
The name of the programme is explained below:
“Mana Ora speaks to the mana (prestige/power) we have as ira tangata (people) to do right by our taiao/tupuna (environment/ancestor) by enhancing the mauri (life force) and ora (health) of our taiao (environment)".
Ka ora te taiao, ka ora te tangata (a healthy land is a healthy people)
NZCER provided an evaluation for Auckland Council focussing on how the programme is implemented in English-medium settings, and the extent to which the programme meets its intended outcomes for students, teachers, schools, and the facilitators and partners that support schools. A separate workstream explored the programme impacts and outcomes in Māori-medium settings.
The Mana Ora programme and evaluation built on what was learned in a 2021 Schools' Carbon Footprint Pilot project with Auckland Council.