Whenuakite Country Kids early childhood centre is saving the environment one plastic peg at a time.

A focus on sustainability inspired the centre to sell stainless steel clothes pegs as a fundraiser – and they sold a whopping 6500 pegs in just three weeks.

The popularity of the pegs took fundraising organiser Rochelle Palmer by surprise.

“There’s a lot more interest in sustainable options than there ever used to be, and I think we’ve tapped into that desire with this fundraiser.

“We’ve done reuseable shopping bags and fresh food bag fundraisers before, but they weren’t this popular.”

The pegs, made from high grade stainless steel and manufactured as a single part – meaning they won’t break – have been sold to centre families and locals. Social media helped spread the word, says Rochelle.

“Though we would have preferred to source the pegs from New Zealand, there weren’t any local suppliers, so they are coming from overseas.”

The success of the stainless steel peg fundraiser along with the centre’s sustainability focus inspired the development of Eco Corner, a label and ethos that will drive future fundraisers.

Rochelle has a few more eco-friendly fundraising ideas up her sleeve, and believes it is important to focus on everyday items. “Making small changes to the way we do things can have a big impact.

“I’m blown away by the fact that people don’t realise that there are better, more sustainable alternatives available for a lot of products we use every day.”

Through Eco Corner, the centre plans to do a new fundraiser every few months, with each one featuring an eco-friendly version of an everyday item like coffee cups or shaving razors, says Rochelle.

While the centre’s children weren’t heavily involved in the stainless steel peg fundraiser – “I did consider getting the children to help package up the pegs,” jokes Rochelle – plans for a reusable canvas shopping bags decorated by the children are on the list of possible future Eco Corner fundraisers.

The centre’s sustainability focus doesn’t stop at fundraising. They have recently become a community drop off point for TerraCycle, a company that specialises in recycling hard-to-recycle waste. Food scraps from the centre are used by local farmers and they recycle and reuse where possible says Rochelle.

“It’s all about raising awareness among our children and the wider community, that there is a better way,” says Rochelle.

Enquiries about the pegs are welcome by emailing: info@wck.co.nz