Students at a Rotorua school will soon be getting familiar with the forest.
The entire Kaitao Middle School student body, about 350 students, will participate in mountain bike sessions run by Mountain Bike Rotorua as part of a programme called Share the Ride in Schools, which begins on Wednesday.
Tak Mutu from Mountain Bike Rotorua came up with the idea after being approached by an international initiative called Pink Bike Share the Ride, which provides economically disadvantaged youth with mountain bikes.
Share the Ride in Schools will teach the students forest etiquette and mountain bike skills, using bikes provided by Mountain Bike Rotorua over eight sessions.
"We plan to be finishing up by Crankworx. We are bringing out groups of 15 to 20 students at a time to get on and have a two-hour session in the forest, where they will learn a number of skills in the forest."