Minister lauds school students

Students at Tauranga Waldorf School organised a bake sale to raise money to help the Maui dolphin as part of their volunteering efforts in Volunteer Week. Photo / Supplied

Students at Tauranga Waldorf School have been singled out by the Government for their efforts to raise money for Maui dolphins.

Associate Conservation Minister Nicky Wagner commended the students, who organised a bake sale to raise money for the Department of Conservation's work with the dolphins as part of Volunteer Week, which began yesterday.

"More than 15,000 people participated in Department of Conservation volunteer programmes last year, working an estimated 35,149 work days. On top of this, DOC ran more than 600 partnerships last year with community conservation groups," Ms Wagner said.

"These numbers have been building steadily over the past few years, and it's pleasing to see such a wide range of people get out and do their bit.

"It is important to take the opportunity to thank people who have generously given their time to volunteer in the conservation sector. No matter how young or old you are, there's a place for you to volunteer for conservation."

Ms Wagner said it was great to see young people like students at Waldorf School "getting out and volunteering and learning about what it takes to conserve our wildlife and special places".

"Protecting New Zealand's nature is everyone's responsibility, not just DOC's," she said.

"Volunteering with DOC can involve anything from repairing tracks, planting trees and trapping pests, to doing data entry from home computers or babysitting seal pups."

"The work is varied and rewarding, and I encourage New Zealanders who are conservation-minded to think about how they can get involved," Ms Wagner said.