My Account
“I’ve always respected people … who do their bit for society.”
Driven by learning and fulfilled by passing it on, Les Cave found a way of pursuing his passions in a 40-year career as a school teacher. But he says his fondest memories are of the times out of the classroom, venturing into regional parks to instil a passion for conservation in his students. He has been a member of Warkworth Lions Club for two decades and also served as chair of the Tawaharanui volunteer group TOSSI. Somewhere in between, the humble 66-year-old has managed to run 51 marathons. But as his teaching career draws to a close, he told reporter George Driver that he is looking forward to having time to help regenerate native forest in local regional parks …
Since I was very young, rambling around the Port Hills in Christchurch, I’ve been interested in observing the world around me and trying to understand how things work. That’s what motivates me. I find in nature there’s a lot more to observe, a lot more to learn. When I see tui flying around every morning, it inspires me. I think that’s guided a lot of my life. I started out my career a long way from the classroom, working as a psychiatric nurse. I was always interested in human behaviour and psychology and I trained at Sunnyside Hospital in Christchurch for four years. Things were starting to improve in psychiatric clinics at the time, as drug treatments were becoming more prevalent and the emphasis was on reintegrating people back into society and having early interventions. But working in that environment, you can understand a lot about why people develop certain conditions. A lot of the patients had difficult backgrounds and had suffered trauma which gave insight and an explanation for the way they were. I also had a lot of respect for the men who worked in the wards. Many were returned servicemen. They were very firm, but had a lot of compassion. They did a good job, working in a tough environment. I’ve always respected people like that who do their bit for society.
I went on to get a degree, studying zoology and animal behaviour at Massey University, but continued to work as a psychiatric nurse doing shift work. I originally wanted to be a vet – I’ve always liked animals – but ended up going on to study teaching after returning to Christchurch and marrying my lovely wife Mary. That enabled me to combine my interest in science while working with people. I also hoped I could make a difference in my work. I taught at Mount Roskill Grammar after training and went on to Northcote College before starting at Mahurangi College in 1987. I had often gone on holiday in the area with my family and I loved the place then, and still do now. I love being in the coastal environment, seeing the daily changes with the tides and weather. When we first came here the area was quite rural. I remember one day there was a tractor parked outside the school. One of the students had driven it because he was going to go hay making that afternoon. You wouldn’t see that anymore.
One of the highlights of teaching was taking the students out to do native plantings at regional parks. We did a lot of work at Tawharanui. I can go there now and see the impact we’ve had. I’ve still got photos of some areas of grassland which are now covered in maturing forest. I feel really grateful to have been able to have those experiences exposing the kids to nature and being able to contribute to restoring ecosystems. I love plants, whether they are in the garden or part of a conservation project and I hope that I’ve been able to pass on that passion to some of my students.
I joined TOSSI when it formed in 2002 and was chairman for a couple of years. In the beginning the committee, along with Auckland Regional Council (ARC), set some very ambitious goals, but it’s been incredible to see most of the goals reached in a short timeframe than anticipated. I thought it would be a challenge to sustain peoples interest in projects. But 12 years on it’s attracting volunteers from the district and beyond. In 2006 I had a year out at Tawharanui after I was awarded a teachers fellowship to study wetlands with Unitech and the ARC as hosts. Wetlands have an incredibly important function in a healthy ecosystem, filtering out sediments and toxins and preventing flood events, but the vast majority of them have been destroyed, having been drained to create farmland. But Tawharanui still has some healthy wetlands, and through my time there we were able to reintroduce pateke (NZ brown teal).
I was introduced by a neighbour. It’s a good way of getting to know people in the community and do some really good projects. Projects like renovating Camp Bentzon on Kawau Island and the Warkworth playground have a had a lasting impact. People can be very generous with their time. I’ve been struck with that working at the school too. If you need help for something, people in this area are so willing to give it. It makes doing a project so easy. Lions is also becoming a lot more flexible. We’ve been able to work with Rotary on projects and it’s moving with the times. Unfortunarely we have less young people than we’d like and getting people involved since weekend trading came in has been difficult. Weekends used to be a time for family, sports and volunteering. A lot of that time is gone now I think. One of the Lions projects I’ve been most involved in the Young Ambassadors programme, which encourages and acknowledges young student leaders who volunteer and contribute to the community. I will continue to run that after retiring.
For 40 years the normal course of my working day has involved being around a lot of young people. I’m going to miss that. I’ve been at Mahurangi so long that I’m now teaching the children of former students. I like that. It makes a certain completeness to the job, seeing it come full circle. I always enjoy hearing what my students have gone on to become after school. Overall, I think kids are a lot more confident today. They are able to express themselves and give things a go. I think that’s because there are more opportunities now for students to be themselves and the school environment has become less formal, which is a good thing. It’s helped students to come out of their shell a bit.
The internet has also been a huge change for the classroom. Students also have such easy access to information now. But it still comes down to what you do with that information that is important. That won’t change. The use of technology in schools is really accelerating and I don’t feel quite up with the play anymore. The down side is kids have lost a lot of time as social media becomes such a big part of their lives.
As well as teaching and conservation, running has always been one of my passions. I run and swim every morning and recently finished my 51st marathon in Auckland. It helps to have a goal to extend yourself. But now my time is no longer the challenge – it’s more about being able to complete the race. My next goal is to run my 20th Rotoroa Marathon, which is my favourite race. The autumn colours are fantastic and it’s a great weekend away. I’ve also managed the running team at school for years and have seen some of the kids go on to compete at a national level. I really admire the kids who put the time in to running. It’s a very solitary sport and takes a lot of drive.
I’ve been fortunate to follow the things that interest me through the school. The community has been very kind and supportive. When you send out a request for something, the network that has developed in the community seems to work and means we achieve a lot. I hope after retiring I’ll have more time to volunteer for projects and conservation work.
