Waiotahe Valley School is 15km from Opotiki in the rural paradise of the Eastern Bay of Plenty, on the North Island of New Zealand.
No surprise, the school’s 100 children and four full-time teachers have embraced environmental responsibility. The school’s an EnviroSchool and the children take part in ongoing environmental activities. Waiotahe Valley School was established in 1916. It is a Tuhoe cluster school and delivers years 1 through 8 learning with a strong emphasis on reading, writing and math as well as diverse cultural, sporting and other activities. Te reo is actively supported. The school has a roughly equal mix of Maori and Pakeha children.
So, when the Ministry of Education assessed the school as qualifying for more learning space in early 2003, the vision was also one of environmental responsibility and sustainability.
In early 2005, construction will begin on what may well be New Zealand’s first straw-built school building. The building, which will include a classroom, staff room and toilet facilities, will have all exterior walls filled with straw, offering incredible insulation. Additional funding is being sought for the inclusion of a library in the same building. Further, the roof will be cool store thermal sheeting and windows double glazed. Under-floor pipes will carry solar water heating and eaves will provide shade and protection from rain.
The result will be a building that offers a superbly comfortable, robust learning environment and makes significant savings in the cost of energy. As such, this building represents an important attitudinal step for New Zealand’s future environmental sustainability. It presents a very positive aspect to the huge–and usually hugely negative issue of energy use and wastage.
Further, the children will learn how to manage their environment through simple actions like opening windows–not flicking switches–after they have helped place the bales.
“It’s not just a building, it’s a milestone for environmental thinking,” says Evan Crawford of Sustainable Structures, the firm managing the project. “It shows that with a bit of lateral thinking, you don’t need to just move on a standard prefab classroom.”
Tony Corse-Scott, a local Opotiki builder, is helping the school achieve the vision. Parents and the local community will take part in the filling of walls with straw, saving money and engendering a sense of ownership.
Key facts:
• Building plans and the overall project have been approved by the Ministry of Education.
• Site preparation has now been completed.
• Building planned to begin in early January 2005 (flexible to funding provider needs) and be completed by April 2005.
• Evan Crawford, director of Sustainable Structures and a parent of children at the school, is project manager.
• Tony Corse-Scott, Opotiki builder, is heading construction. Tony has made huge efforts to keep his contracted costs low, while still delivering a top result.
• Over the Christmas holidays, the local community was involved in the straw-fill process of building, saving $15,000 in labour costs and engendering ‘ownership’ of the building. Already the community ‘investment’ has been major, with voluntary help in preparing the site.

For details about the school, please contact Pat Carrington, Principal on 07 3154 712 or
<waiotahevalleyschool@xtra.co.nz>, www.enviroschools.org.nz
For details about the energy-efficient nature of straw-fill construction, the solar system, and the construction itself, please call Evan Crawford of Sustainable Structures, 07 315 4900 or visit www.sustainable-structures.com