One of the Bay of Plenty's most popular school camp sites will largely run ‘off-grid' thanks to new solar panels and batteries purchased with the help of a $35,000 grant from BayTrust.

The eco-friendly initiative will also be used to teach students visiting Ngamuwahine Outdoor Education Lodge, in the lower Kaimais, about the benefits of solar power and the importance of sustainability.

Eleven local schools including Tauranga Intermediate, Bethlehem College, Pyes Pa School, Matua Primary, Otumoetai Primary, St Thomas More, Oropi School, Omokoroa Point School and Kaimai School currently send around 3000 students a year to stay overnight at the lodge.

Expansion plans are well underway to cater for growing demand, with a new ‘out camp' featuring canvas tents ready to open for 2023.

Camp Administrator and Head Instructor Gerry Hart says the rising cost of electricity, plus a desire to make the lodge as environmentally-friendly as possible, has prompted the Ngamuwahine Lodge Trust to invest in three new solar power batteries and an additional 24 solar panels.

'Twelve years ago we did a major building development and at that time we installed 52 solar panels on the roof of our new building,” Gerry explains.

'This has subsidised our power to some degree over the years but because we had no batteries to store the power created during the day, much was exported back to the grid.

'The lodge uses most power in the evenings when the sun has gone down. If we can store the power produced during the day into batteries, that will allow us to utilise it during the evening.”

The new solar power system will produce 26,557kW per year which will account for two thirds of the lodge's annual power requirements, substantially reducing its $12,000 annual power bill.

New 'outcamp' at Ngamuwahine Trust Camp.

'It will make things a lot more efficient than what we've got at the moment,” Gerry says.

'We've also got hot water on diesel at present which we're going to change over and use some of the power we're generating with the solar system to heat the hot water.”

The solar batteries and ability to operate during a power outage will also make the lodge an ideal venue for the community to congregate during a civil defence emergency, he says.

The BayTrust grant will cover approximately half the cost of the new batteries and solar panels.

'The Ngamuwahine Trust is delighted and appreciative for the Bay Trust grant. This has been an on-going project which we have been waiting to finish for several years.”

BayTrust CEO Alastair Rhodes says the lodge's solar power project is a great example of a community organisation looking to sustainably manage their own natural resources.

'Our priority is to help Bay of Plenty communities and our environment to flourish. This project achieves both of those aims. School camp is an important childhood milestone and Ngamuwahine Outdoor Education Lodge is a very special place for students to test their physical and emotional limits. It's also the perfect venue to learn about environmental kiatiakitanga (guardianship) and the benefits solar power can provide.”