Whanganui City College students Maria Latele, Shayan Andrews and Mack O'Hagan at the school's community garden. Photo / Bevan Conley
Whanganui City College students Maria Latele, Shayan Andrews and Mack O'Hagan at the school's community garden. Photo / Bevan Conley
Whether hip hop dancing at Majestic Square, digging garden beds and planting or helping out at Bushy Park Tarapuruhi, some Whanganui teenagers have done themselves proud.
Whanganui City College (WCC) students have been participating in Mahi Kaupapa Week, helping their school and community while gaining new experiences for themselves.
Year9 student Mack O'Hagan joined the team at Bushy Park Tarapuruhi and said it was a great experience.
"I really enjoyed working in the bush setting and learning about the work they do at the sanctuary," he said.
"We helped to repair the predator fence and spread new shellrock on some of the tracks."
Sanctuary manager Mandy Brooke said it was great to have school groups come to help out.
"The Whanganui City College students worked very hard and we really enjoyed having them here," she said.
"We always have a big list of jobs, and many hands make light work, but the tasks weren't light and they really pushed themselves. They were also very interested to learn about what we do here and that is always rewarding to us as well."
Another group of students helped Castlecliff Coast Care with dune planting and others worked on projects at school.
WCC deputy principal Val Rooderkerk said students had missed out on a number of activities during the year due to Covid-19 restrictions so Mahi Kaupapa Week was also about providing opportunities for physical activities.
Whanganui City College hip hop dancers Kare Krew won the national competition in 2020.
Photo / Andrew Turner
"After winning the nationals last year, our hip hop crew missed out on travelling to competitions this year so they went out and filmed performances to share online and provided some free public entertainment at the same time," she said.
"Some students worked in our community garden, laying the foundation for a glasshouse, while others worked really hard clearing agapanthus from the beds along St Hill St and replaced them with native plants."
The group also learned some arboricultural skills by pruning the trees along the fence line to lift the canopy and let more light onto the beds.
"We had a lot of old desks in storage and some students gained metalwork skills by cutting up the frames for scrap metal. The proceeds will help pay for some end-of-year recreational activities," Rooderkerk said.
The activities will include a student band playing Beatles covers on the school rooftop.
Last year a quartet of WCC teachers re-enacted the Fab Four's famous 1969 rooftop concert, and now it's the students' turn.
