Our plastic free and sustainability policy has been an ongoing battle for us at Westlake Forrest Hill.

In our quest to embrace sustainable practices, to think and care for all in Tangaroa, we have been exploring the symbol of the turtle as our representation of “plastic free”. We are aware of how the turtle is affected by the use of single plastic bags, the impact on its environment and survival.

Our hope is that our community will embrace our elements of care, kindness and aroha for all living things. We are bringing awareness to our small actions which may have an impact in wider ways.

We regularly send out notices via Storypark explaining our policy to whānau and the ways that we are attempting to keep our children’s lunchboxes plastic free. We also discuss with tamariki why we do this.

We collected the plastic in children’s lunchboxes over one lunchtime and placed it all on a table to highlight for parents how extensive the amount of packaging is in our centre, our footprint for just one mealtime and the influence that marketing can have on their purchases.