One of the oldest schools in Northland is set up for the future after the installation of solar panels to generate electricity on site.
Established in 1858, Whangarei Heads School is the second oldest school still on its original site in New Zealand, and the 50th school in the country to be part of Genesis Energy's SchoolGen programme.
Yesterday the school held a special assembly to share with parents and community members the story of how the panels work and what they can teach pupils. Genesis Energy environmental educator Maggie Twaddle has been at the school teaching the teachers and students how the solar panels work.
"School finances can be so stretched it's tough to manage these days, so to come in and give them the gift of the solar panels and save them money is great."
Pupils can log on to an interactive website that explains how much energy is being produced from the solar panels.