Matipo principal up for award

Environmentally friendly: Matipo school principal Wayne Bainbridge is up for an award.

By SUSANA TALAGI

Wayne Bainbridge's efforts to make his school a better place have earned him a spot among finalists in the Auckland Regional Council's sustainable environment awards.

The Matipo primary school principal is one of five people competing for top honours.

He's well known for his efforts and has introduced a raft of environmental programmes at the Te Atatu based facility.

Mr Bainbridge says there were no trees at the school when he started work there 17 years ago

Now it is landscaped like a park.

The school has a trees for survival planting unit, various recycling schemes, and gets its students involved in regular community clean ups.

It has a nature trail named after famous New Zealanders like Dame Whina Cooper, Jean Batten and Lord Rutherford and also encourages parents to be to participate in environmental conservation.

Mr Bainbridge has been consistent in his efforts over the years.

"What we're doing is long term stuff," he says. "It's not about short term."

He is surprised to be a finalist, saying Matipo has already won numerous awards for its environmental programmes.

Regional council spokeswoman Dianne Glenn says the awards will be announced on August 9.

"To be a winner, the nominee has to illustrate that the project is sustainable and can continue on into the future for the environmental benefit of the community," she says.

Western Leader