Renewable energy and associated new technologies have been the focus of this year's Enviroschools regional expos.
More than 160 students, teachers, family and community members got together last week at Whangarei and Taipa at two annual expos for primary and intermediate students. This year the Northland Regional Council-supported event was themed 'iEnergy'.
John Bain, one of two councillors who represent the regional council's Whangarei Urban constituency, officially opened the Whangarei event and said that once again the expos provided exciting hands-on learning experiences.
The expos featured four 'action stations' designed to showcase the latest renewable technologies and inspire young people to use them. One action station looked at electric cars and how these stack up against conventional vehicles in terms of power and efficiency; a second focussed on electric bicycles; the third on solar power; the fourth on energy efficiency in homes and schools.
The council introduced the popular Enviroschools programme to Northland more than a decade ago and there are now 75 schools in the programme.
