Two extraordinary women, Jan Scott and Abeer Khankan, from English Language Partners North Shore, have developed the online Zero Waste Resource Book, an updated educational resource for its students and teachers. It is a fantastic output from our Local Board project, the Albany New Kiwis Zero Waste Education Initiative.

This amazing resource aims to empower English language learners from refugee and migrant backgrounds to become champions of Auckland Council’s 2040 Zero Waste target.

The teaching module contains a series of lessons relating to different zero waste topics. The aim is to both inform learners about Auckland’s waste issues and, at the same time, offer linguistic support to enable learners to participate in a series of zero waste workshops and activities outside the classroom.

Equipped with first-hand experience from their work with migrant students and ESOL teachers, Jan and Abeer spent numerous hours on the resource book during last year’s lockdown. They did a splendid job, using feedback from participants in the zero waste Local Board project to develop the final version. It is a great addition to the resources available for our migrant communities to learn about waste in Auckland.

Several colleagues from the Community WasteWise team helped review its contents and recommended sharing this valuable educational resource with wider communities. Overall, reviewers are impressed by its thoughtful and interactive design and outstanding level of inclusiveness; one commented:

“This will be a great resource for the community. A lot of work has gone into making it so comprehensive”