Last Friday the 29th of June three members of Nayland's environment group attended the official opening of Ecoland, the Nelson City Council Environment Centre.

The opening was also attended by Nelson MP Nick Smith, Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage, volunteers at the environment centre, city councillors and members of other Nelson schools. 

"It was wonderful to have representatives from all of our Secondary Enviro groups at the NEC opening event last week,"  Enviroschools coordinator Heather Graham said. "Very pleased to see their attendance acknowledged by NEC and Eugenie Sage as well, not to mention the time that Eugenie took to talk to them all after the formalities were done! This shows it is not just Enviroschools or schools that see the importance of the voice and energy of youth."

Ecoland is an extension of the original environment centre and now includes an e-waste recycling facility, Kai Rescue, which  redistributes excess food to families in need within the Nelson city region, and an organic food store.

You can drop off your electronic waste at Ecoland, knowing that it will be disposed of responsibly. You can also make donations of fruit, vegetables & other food products that they can send to families & community groups through Kai Rescue.

Attending the opening of Ecoland also provided the Nayland group with an opportunity to meet student leaders from other Nelson schools and discuss the initiatives that schools are working on individually.  It was also a chance to look at the ways we could work more collaboratively to improve the sustainability of our schools and local communities.