Editorial: Pupils relish rubbish project

Malfroy Primary School students erected this sign on the banks of the Utuhina Stream. Photo/Stephen Parker

Warriors come in all shapes and forms. Sometimes they look just like primary school kids with rubbish bags.

Today the Rotorua Daily Post reports on the "Utuhina Warriors", a class from Malfroy Primary School who have so far removed more than 450kg of rubbish from the Utuhina Stream, including a shopping trolley, car bonnet, car tyre, microwave, television, and (the grossest part, according to one), dead possum.

It's all part of studies into sustainability, with their teacher working with the Rotorua Lakes Council and the local community to teach the kids, in a hands-on way, about looking after their environment.

It's a cliche, but the younger generation are our future. If teachers such as Helen Ramsdale can instil in them a passion and understanding for sustainability at a young age, it augers well for the future.

Picking up rubbish - getting wet and cold in the process - is no one's idea of fun, let alone 10 and 11-year-olds. But Mrs Ramsdale seems to have inspired her kids - yesterday was meant to be about erecting their signs, but they couldn't leave the stream without giving it a clean up.

Freyja Bjarnadottir, 10, told us she was annoyed people kept throwing their rubbish into the stream, meaning she and her classmates had to keep going in the water to fish it out.

-How fantastic to see a woman claiming victory in the Melbourne Cup yesterday.

Noticing she was the only female jockey in the race, I had singled out her horse to put my money on - it seemed as good a reason as any.

If only I had found the time to actually get to the TAB. Hopefully some of you had more luck.