Student Project Wins Top Environment Award

A collaborative project between Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) environmental students and the local community has won top honours at the Environment Southland Community Awards. The Kew Bush Restoration and Education Programme was named the winner of the Environmental Action in the Community category.

Kew Bush, a 3.3-hectare patch of native forest on Southland Hospital grounds, offers locals a chance to explore a rare example of tall Kahikatea forest, once common across the region.

The programme was developed by SIT's School of Environmental Management after years of class excursions to the site. Environmental Management Tutor Jordon Traill explained, “The forest is like stepping back in time; it’s our natural history. Kew Bush was looking pretty overrun by pests and degraded before the Friends of Kew Bush did something about it in the 1990s.”

Led by long-time volunteer Alan McPherson, the Friends of Kew Bush worked for decades to restore the area. SIT students have played a growing role in the group, helping with trapping, weeding, and planting. “Our students have been doing the trapping, weeding and planting as community members,” said Mr Traill.

The restoration project has since become a core part of SIT’s Environmental Management curriculum. First-year students learn restoration theory, second-year students put skills into action, and third-year students make decisions that shape future plans. “This informs the action for the years 1 and 2, and in time the cycle repeats. It’s student centred and community focused,” said Mr Traill.

Class trips are now routine, and large working bees are held every few months, bringing together students, their families, Friends of Kew Bush, and members of the public.

Support from Environment Southland’s Enhanced Environment Fund in 2022 helped strengthen the programme. “We received expert advice from Catriona Gower who helped the students form plans and priorities for the forest block,” said Mr Traill.

He said the practical learning experience is vital for students preparing for careers in environmental management. “Because of their experiences at Kew Bush, they know how to make decisions on trapping, planting and biosecurity.”

Mr Traill admitted the win at the awards evening came as a surprise. “The groups who were in the same category were doing amazing work; to win the award was a big surprise for our group – none of us had prepared a speech.”

The judges highlighted the project’s strong community partnership and its focus on training future leaders. “They noted that seeing a project passed down to a new generation was great to see. It was a very inspiring event and a showcase of the hard work so many people do to improve the environment in Murihiku,” Mr Traill concluded.