Paparore School are working on not only making themselves healthy however also their surrounding areas. In conjunction with the Department of Conservation Kaitaia, Paparore set out to clean up a six kilometre stretch of 90 mile beach.  Louisa Cooper, Far North Energizer was honoured to be involved and provided loads of enthusiasm and help to keep spirits high throughout the three kilometre trek back to the centre point of collection.

Each group of ten students aged between five and ten were armed with gloves and rubbish bags to gather the litter. 

It was great teamwork with a pilot car ready if assistance was needed on the trek. Department of Conservation staff were also well prepared to aid seals who had washed up on the beach and students cleaning up the coastline.

With the beach and water right there, the clean-up was a great opportunity to discuss important water safety messages with the students. Students were asked “who should we attend the beach with, and should we enter the water alone”?   They were also asked to show the distress signal when in the water - “straight up in the air” says Ethan Walker, “absolutely no waving, just straight up”.

Along with the huff puff work of walking along the beach, the students collected just on  1230 bits of rubbish from wine bottles, jars, aerosols, rope, lots of polystyrene and other stuff (wow!).  The day was a huge effort with both the junior and senior classes that attended. Luckily, the students at Paparore are well aware that Ka pai te wai (water is the best drink).

After the beach excursion, everyone involved shared a free sausage sizzle which was on brown bread for added energy. It was also the Principal John Windleborn’s birthday so all the students sang the party song, and ate the fresh club sandwiches and asparagus rolls on brown bread that he had made.  “What great choices for food and what a great way to share healthy messages within the community” says Louisa.

John really lives by the values of his school, one being Kaitiakitanga which is caring for the environment. He believes that it’s so important that all students, whanau and wider community are taught that when they arrive at Paparore, they display the value by taking care of the lake roadside and lake itself.  This is supported every year by the Department of Conservation Ranger Haina Tamehana. She says “it’s really a blessing to see the children actively helping, listening to the rangers and learning about the importance of keeping our environment healthy, clean and tidy, like you would the body”.