At Cascades Kindergarten we are proud to be a Green-Gold Enviroschools Kindergarten.

We are proud of the actions we take outside our gates in the wider community by participating in:

• The Howick Ward Moth Pod Eradication Programme,
• Auckland Beautification Trust’s Eye on Nature Competitions,
• Sea Week Programmes,
• Supporting charitable organisations through donations for Pink Shirt Day, Pajama Day
• Supporting the Chip Packet Project NZ
• Participating in Plastic Free July
• Participating in the Dalton Sunflower Competition, amongst others.

At Cascades Kindergarten, we believe in culture, and we believe in people. We celebrate our differences with great enthusiasm because this diversity makes our world a more interesting place.

Culture, for us, is the way we dress, the way we speak, the stories we tell, the food we eat, and the rhythm of the music we dance to. Culture is the essence of life. This celebration of people makes everyone feel they belong. This feeling of belonging has a ripple effect, and motivates everyone to want to contribute to making the world a better place.

We believe that every child comes to us empowered with the genes of their ancestors, and their family ‘way of being’. As kaiako, our role is to uphold and enhance their mana to further empower them as they continue learning to be global citizens. Our tamariki learn that every action they make will have a positive impact on the people, the things and their place surrounding them – whether it be Cascades Kindergarten, their Primary School, or their local community. We want our children to have the power to be kind and caring contributors to the society in which they live.

Our learning for sustainability, comes from hands-on practice and experiences that have been repeated, over and over again, until they become cemented in our consciousness. We are all learners and teachers interchangeably. Every action we take has a consequence; it may be good or bad. Understanding these consequences, and the impact it has on all life around us, helps us alter and change our actions for the better. It is our non-judgmental attitude that allows everyone to learn from their mistakes. We have realised that we cannot change what we do not acknowledge.

We embrace our unique Māori culture as being the binding thread to all people living in Aotearoa. This unique culture is not just about te reo Māori; it is about understanding tikanga, and the reasons behind it. It is about using te ao Māori ways of living to guide us in our daily practice. Making the Māori perspective visible within our environment is a strong statement to everyone in our community that “this is who we are, and this is what we stand for, here at Cascades Kindergarten.”

All our sustainable education is geared towards shaping the next generation of people, who really, truly care about the environment and the planet they share. Instilling generosity, selflessness, passion and enthusiasm (for eco-conservation) in our children will bring about a cultural transformation in our society, in the future. Building relationships based on reciprocal trust is the foundation for our sustainable community at Cascades Kindergarten.