Chris Furlong

Chris is a recent high school graduate of Kristin School in Auckland, planning to study computer science and environmental studies at university. Chris has a passion for service and the environment, and he has been active in his school and local community for years. At Kristin, Chris was a member of the school’s Sustainability Council and Chair of the Waste Team. On the Sustainability Council, Chris helped push sustainability into the school’s culture by creating Kristin’s sustainability website (kristinsustainability.school.nz) and establishing a social media presence.

As a leader of the Waste Team, Chris helped mobilise their 29 members to push for material progress on the school’s goal of reducing landfill waste by 10% annually. Through yearly waste audits, the team discovered that 60% of the school’s waste was actually compostable so Chris led the team to pursue a school-wide composting strategy. In 2020, multiple compost options were trialed including a bespoke system and a commercial option. In 2021, the team used data from another waste audit to create a proposal requesting the funding for five bins from WeCompost. The proposal was accepted at the end of the year, and the 2022 team will oversee the deployment of this service. After several years of work from Chris and the team, Kristin is now has a clear pathway to zero waste. As a member of the school’s sustainability council, Chris oversaw the launch of Kristin’s Sustainability Website. This website is a hub for sustainability work at Kristin, and it includes data, activity info, and resources for students and staff.

Outside of school, Chris is in Sustainable Coastline’s Ambassador Program and a member of Mairangi Bay Surf Life-Saving Club. He has helped organise beach clean-ups with other students across multiple schools for Sustainable Coastlines. As a lifeguard he has completed four years of volunteer patrolling. Chris graduated Kristin in November 2021, and he is now preparing for university. He attended BLAKE Inspire in 2021, which enabled him to work out the plan to tackle Kristin’s landfill waste. He is looking forward to the 2022 BLAKE Expedition as a way to get first hand experience with work in the environmental field.