Schoolgen Application Update

A team from Schoolgen and the Wellington City Council arrived on Wednesday 19 February for the second round of the application process. A group of students took them on a tour of the school, pointing out the sustainable, green star features of our school - emphasising our commitment to sustainable practices. Thanks so much to Aimee, James, Ryan and Phoebe who were wonderfully hospitable and full of information. The team enjoyed the tour very much and seemed very positive about the possibility of putting solar panels into our achool. If succcessful, as well as getting a two watt array of solar panels free, we are able to have a further two watt array at a very subsidized rate.

We should hear about our application any day now.

Information about schoolgen.....

About Schoolgen

Schoolgen is a programme developed by Genesis Energy (one of New Zealand's largest power companies) to bring solar energy and energy efficiency to life for children across New Zealand. Why? Because young people are our future leaders and decision makers, and it's important that they understand the role renewable energy will play in their future.

By talking and interacting with them we have a real chance to cultivate environmentally-aware thinking and behaviour; not just theirs, but that of the people around them - their teachers, parents, parent's colleagues, friends... the whole community! Since Schoolgen began in 2006 Genesis Energy has created a comprehensive programme that includes:

1. Free, New Zealand curriculum-linked, teaching resources that any Primary, Intermediate or Secondary school in New Zealand can use to explore electricity generation, energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate change.
2. A particular focus on solar energy and photovoltaic (PV) systems..
3. Providing 50 schools across New Zealand with a 2 kilowatt (kW) PV system, at no cost to the schools. The PV system allows these schools to generate a portion of their electricity from the sun, and to teach their students about solar energy, climate change and electricity generation.
4. A dedicated programme website on which the real time generation data from the solar panels at these schools is displayed for anyone to see.
5. Specialised Environmental Educators who work at the Primary, Intermediate and Secondary School level in the Schoolgen schools, helping schools to learn about renewable energy and energy efficiency