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The crowds – and clouds – gather before the start of the event, which was held on one of the wettest days of last month. Whangaparaoa School students, from left, Jaidan Joubert, Adele Perry, Oliver Woolton, and Elsdon Monk learn how to tell a weed from a native plant. Whangaparaoa’s Pretty Little Llamas team of, from left, Kate Barton, Michaella Yiu, Ava Anderson-Farmer, and Mia Van Zyl, enjoyed their time in Wenderholm Regional Park. Photos, Jeremy Fourie.
There was organised chaos and plenty of smiling faces as 61 teams of Year 5 to 8 students gathered under ominous clouds at Wenderholm Regional Park to take part in the Junior Schools Sustainability Challenge.
The Wenderholm event on October 30 was the final in a series of three held at regional parks across Auckland by Lactic Turkey Events and Auckland Council.
A series of activities utilised the whole park, from the flat ground adjacent to the Puhoi River to the Maungatauhoro headland above the Waiwera River.
Each 4-person team received a map showing 52 checkpoint and activity locations within the park. Once the siren sounded, the teams and their shadows – the parents or teachers who accompanied each group for safety reasons – scattered in all directions in search of their first location.
The teams earned points for each location found and for completing sustainability-themed activities, such as distinguishing a native plant from a weed, identifying animal pests using different tracking tools and placing mulch around native grasses.
The challenge was to find as many of the checkpoint and activity locations, laid out by the Park Rangers, as possible before midday.
Lactic Turkey event director Madeleine Collins says the Sustainability Challenge is a physically and mentally competitive, yet fun way for students to spend time in Auckland’s regional parks.
Auckland Council sustainable schools advisor Sarah Sheeran says the event is designed to be inclusive and needs every team member to participate. “Some of the schools have orienteering as a sport, so the children from those schools are a bit more competitive, but the newbies are quite happy to give it a go while enjoying the outdoors,” Sarah says.
Four teams from Whangaparaoa School took part in the event. Their Year 5/6 Sustainable Superheroes team of Jaidan Joubert, Adele Perry, Oliver Woolton and Elsdon Monk accumulated 1590 points and earned a very creditable 9th place overall behind eventual winners St Cuthbert’s College. The other Whangaparaoa School teams that participated placed 28th, 29th, and 37th.
