Wairarapa welcomes womble work

TIDY TWOSOME: Wainuioru School students Emily Graham (left), 9, and Molly Smith, 8, enjoy picking up rubbish around their school. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

Parents be warned - Wombles have taken over at Wainuioru School and the children are hooked.

None more so than friends Molly Smith, 8, and Emily Graham, 9, who say it's great to be tidy Kiwis.

"By picking up after ourselves, it will keep New Zealand and our school nice and clean," Emily says.

"We are being responsible," Molly says.

Older children are even finding it a pleasure.

Isaac Noble, 12, said taking part ensures the school is spotless and nothing is lost.

They pick up everything from rubbish to sports equipment and lost clothing.

Two years ago, "wombling" was introduced to the junior class of the rural school and this year the entire school has taken on the task.

Children are encouraged to take their own rubbish home for recycling or putting in the bin.

The Wairarapa school is registered as part of Keep of New Zealand Beautiful Week, which started on Sunday, joining 40,000 participants around the country.

Principal Karen Goodall said each class had an area they kept clean as they helped keep the school looking beautiful.

"The aim is to teach the children to take responsibility for their rubbish and learn to be kaitiaki [guardians] of the environment," she said.

It was one way of teaching the children to take pride in themselves and their environment which was part of the school's mission statement, Miss Goodall said.

"We hope that it instils in them to be self-managing and have pride in their school," she said.

The junior school students have watched several episodes of the Wombles television show.

They were extremely proud of their efforts in the school grounds, she said.

"[They] enjoy wombling so much that they often arrive at my office during lunchtime to show me what they have collected."

Their actions have not gone unnoticed, either.

"Being a rural school we have to get rid of all our rubbish so we have worked hard to reduce what we throw away and the cleaner has noticed a real difference over the last few years."