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4 TE OMANGA HOSPICE NEWSLETTER BECOMING A SUSTAINABLE WORKPLACE
Te Omanga Hospice has taken part in a sustainability programme with the aim of becoming a sustainable workplace. This has involved minimising our waste, maximising resource recovery and creating a culture of sustainability at the hospice.
Keryn Squires, Music Therapist and former environmental educator, initially reached out to the Lower Hutt City Council for support in 2019. The Council funded the ‘Your Sustainable Workplace’ team to provide the hospice with a waste audit and waste minimisation advice.
Their initial assessment included a range of recommendations on how we could reduce our environmental impact. From there grew three thriving worm farms for composting food and green waste, along with e-waste recycling. A dedicated Green Team was formed with the stalwarts being Bob Robinson, Pip Nicholls, Kaye Plunkett and Keryn Squires.
A reassessment was run this year and the results were amazing. We have successfully diverted five tonnes of waste from landfill annually and reduced our carbon output by four tonnes! However, Keryn says there is always more to do, and our Green Team are already focused on their next project.
CELEBRATING VOLUNTEERS
We celebrated National Volunteer Week in June, which honours the collective energies and mana
of all volunteers in New Zealand. We are so appreciative of all our volunteers who gift their time and talent to Te Omanga Hospice, helping make a difference in the lives of those we care for.
Keryn Squires, Music Therapist and former environmental educator, with the inhabitants of one of our three thriving worm farms.
“To make a difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful, or perfect. You just have to care.” Mandy Hale
A compassionate performance by St Oran’s College students.